


Feel your noise!

by Narucch



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Lime, M/M, Mild Gore, Out of Character, Spoiler secret route, What if?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-03
Updated: 2013-07-18
Packaged: 2017-12-13 19:32:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/828014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narucch/pseuds/Narucch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Stop fucking around and just tell me what are you doing in my room and who are you.”<br/>“I think you do know, though,” he said, ignoring what I had said.<br/>“I have no idea who you are. You have the wrong guy, here.”<br/>But he just looked into my eyes. “This time it’s such an honor. What about having some fun together?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Comic relief doesn't suit me

**Author's Note:**

> I plotted this fanfiction because, well, I'm just a poor frustrated fangirl. I can't unlock the secret route, so I just spoiled myself everything. Bitterness made some questions pop in my mind.  
> What if there was no comic relief in DMMD world? And what if Aoba was a bit more ~~short-tempered~~ assertive? And since he's supposed to be good at fighting, what if he was a little bit tougher? And what if he started to use his powers to survive?  
>  So here's my fanfiction. I plan to follow the main events from Noiz's route, but with ~~a lot of~~ some changes. For this purpose I used some lines of the fan translation of DMMD, so if you spot some sentences you've already read in the game, they have been translated by [these guys](http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/f16/t171722-dramatical-murder-complete-english.html).  
>  I haven't played re:connect, so I won't take the extra events there into consideration.  
> Also: English is not my native language, but this first chapter was beta'd by [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) and [Rosamanelle](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/4703313/) :)

When I slid open my bedroom door, I froze. My stuff was scattered all over the place. The table was turned over and magazines were scattered all over the place. Someone was sitting in front of my desktop, typing on a digital keyboard. The two desktop screens were the only source of light, so I couldn’t see who that person was, but I could easily guess. I had been pretty quiet because Granny was sleeping downstairs, and I hoped the thief hadn’t noticed me. Calling the police was not an option, I could easily get myself arrested for waking up a napping officer. The guy was absorbed in whatever he was doing, so I took the opportunity to analyze the situation. He was taller than me, but still pretty slim. He didn’t look so strong, and I could surprise him. I had an advantage. Still, I could damage my desktop… whatever. I was pretty confident in my fighting skills. I clenched my fists and ran towards him. I had to aim at his neck. A low roundhouse kick or just a jump one? I didn’t want to injure him to the point where I couldn’t obtain any information.

“Welcom—”

I shifted my weight and kicked his neck. “Who are you?” I yelled. “What are you doing here?” Blood was rushing in my ears.

The guy fell on the floor, but recovered immediately, and put a hand on the side of his neck. He wore a hat and matching clothes, and several piercings shone on his face. He stared at me with slitted eyes. _How could he possibly be OK? He should be choking or something!_

His back was to me. I assumed an attack position and waited for an answer. He typed something on the keyboard with his free hand. “I don’t understand the data here at all,” he muttered in a deep voice. “What’s this even supposed to mean? Even the Allmate remodeling here is complicated. Who the hell are you?”

“Who the hell are _you_?” I growled. Was he messing with Ren’s backup data?

The man typed something more and all the windows in the screens closed. In the blue light of the screens I could see him better. I stared at him to memorize his face. Blonde hair, green eyes, pierced lips, weird clothes with cubes all over his pants. He grinned. Who was this weirdo? He stood and I took a step back, stomping on a magazine. “Hey, you. Don’t you know who I am?” he asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Was he underestimating me?

“Stop fucking around and just tell me who you are and what you’re doing in my room.”

“I think you do know,” he said, ignoring what I had said.

“I have no idea who you are. You have the wrong guy, here.”

But he just looked into my eyes. “This time it’s such an honor. What about having some fun together?”

Did he want to fight for real? I looked at him and realized something. The green pattern on his hat… rabbit heads. Same for the pin on his shirt pocket. Rabbit head..!

“Still don’t know?” he asked. He pulled out of his pocket a key chain ringed with small rabbit heads. I frowned and he dropped the key chain. “It was a pretty entertaining setup, wasn’t it?”

“So you were the Drive-Byer. And the home delivery…! You ordered from us.” It made little sense, but the pieces were falling together. He was the one who dragged me into that Rhyme battle two days before.

“Yup. I found out that you’re working there, so why bother? You could come to my place.” What a weirdo. He even paid in advance… “By the way, when we were playing Rhyme, what did you do?”

“What?” He was making no sense. What did I do then? I blacked out and another random weirdo with a gas mask helped me to Heibon.

“Don’t play dumb. I want to know how you defeated me.”

“I have no idea, and that’s not the point.” I recalled gaining my energy back and ordering Ren to attack… but I thought I had lost the match, since I wasn’t feeling like a winner. The day after I was still in pain.

“What?” He frowned and glared at me.

“I have no idea how I did _that_ , whatever _that_ stands for, since I don’t remember it.”

The man snorted. “So that’s how you’re trying to get out of it.” He snapped at me, but I grabbed his wrist and deflected the attack. One second later, he grabbed my coat collar and lifted me. Damn it! He was stronger than he looked. “Force seems the more effective way with you. You still don’t remember?”

I wrapped my legs around his waist and shifted my weight to the front, to unbalance him, but it wasn’t being effective. “I don’t remember,” I growled, and I punched him. He let me go and I landed awkwardly on the floor. I immediately stepped back and felt the bed against the back of my legs. Crap! My room was too small for a real fight.

“Fight me in Rhyme one more time,” he said without blinking.

“I don’t know how to play Rhyme,” I replied. Was he deaf or something? He drew back his fist, ready to punch, but I ducked to the right. The open door was behind my back.

“Then I’ll destroy what’s important to you.” A grin appeared on his face. “Maybe then you’ll remember.”

I widened my eyes. What was he talking about? Ren?

“I know all about you.” He glanced at the blue screens.

I clenched my fists. My heart was beating like crazy. I kind of missed the excitement of a fight. He was stronger than me, so I couldn’t really do anything to stop him, but I could try. Or I could try to negotiate… “Why don’t you actually listen to me?” I was getting more annoyed than angry. “I told you I don’t remember. I blacked out before realizing I had won.” I stared at him with my knees bent, ready to duck another punch.  But he was really something else; he just pushed me aside and I fell with my back against the chair. That  hurt! He sat on me, holding my arm. “Let go!” I yelled.

“Shut up.” He twisted my arm and the cold pain made me gasp. “You can still play Rhyme with one hand.” He grabbed my other wrist and held it against the floor. “If you don’t want a broken arm, fight me.” What the fuck did he think I was doing?!

“Urgh…” Pain was branching from my shoulder to my chest and arm, like needles piercing my muscles and my nerves.

“Aoba!”

I saw a red flash hit the man, but I was still pinned to the floor. “Koujaku!”

He held the grip of his katana with one hand. “You bastard!” he yelled at the man. “Let him go!” Koujaku grabbed the man’s shirt and he let me go, before turning and hitting my friend with his elbow. Koujaku dragged him down to the floor with him. The man gripped his wrist and punched Koujaku in the face.

I stood and observed the situation for a few seconds. Koujaku was a skilled fighter, but he was struggling to hit the other man. His katana was under him and he couldn’t pull it out of the sheath. I didn’t want a murder to happen in my room.  “Stop!” I yelled, “It’s no use!”

They rolled against the wall and Koujaku got onto him. He put his hand on the katana, but the other man slipped on the side and kicked him in the lungs. “Gwah!”

Fuck. Koujaku was too weak compared to the man.  “Asshole!” he screamed. He rolled against the bed and pulled out his katana. The man stood and hurled himself in the opposite direction, mercilessly stomping on my mouse.

“You brats are too noisy!” Another voice. Granny?! “Give me a break!” she yelled.

The man was distracted. Perfect.  I jumped, aiming at his knees, and folded my arms around his legs.

 Caught by surprise, he fell with me to the ground, and Koujaku touched his cheek with the blade. “Move and you’re dead,” he said.

“Good one,” she whispered. “Everyone, downstairs! Right now!” she yelled.

Koujaku cocked his head toward the door, looking at the man. “You’re the first one to go,” he said.

I let the man go and he lifted himself from the floor. He walked to the door, followed by Koujaku. He sank the tip of his katana in the other’s back, ready to slice him open. I followed Koujaku in silence.

“Aoba…” Granny called me while I was going down the stairs. “Did you leave the door open _again_?”

I sighed. “…yes?” I guess that man would have broken in anyway, door locked or not. Maybe the unlocked door had been a fortune—the gods only know what he could have done to Granny.

“Koujaku, let our guest sit in the kitchen, won’t you?” she yelled.

“Yes Ma’am,” was his prompt reply.

“Aoba, you come with me for a moment,” she ordered. Koujaku guided the man into the kitchen with his sword, and I waited for Granny at the bottom of the stairs. She put her hands on her hips and blinked. Was it all right for her to move already?

“Does it still hurt?” I asked her. I wiped my forehead with my sleeve. I had already caught my breath. Not bad.

“Or course it does!” She glared at me, grimacing. “Tell me, who is that man with the hat?”

“I have no idea,” I confessed. “He broke into my room, made a mess and did something to my desktop.”

She crossed her arms. “Something else?” Her voice was low, now.

I hadn’t told her that I was dragged into Rhyme, and since she had just had an accident, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to make her worried. Still, she needed to know. I briefly reported what happened two days before and I told her about the man’s questions.

She frowned and looked at me in the eyes. “Aoba. If something similar happens again, tell me immediately, all right?”

I nodded. “Do you know what it means, Granny?”

“…not yet.” She walked to her room’s door and got in, leaving me in the hallway.

I joined the others in the kitchen. The man was sitting on a chair. Koujaku was standing behind him, still poking him with his blade. “Koujaku,” I called him. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “No problem.”

“Why were you here, anyway?” I asked.

“I wanted to ask you about Mizuki.”

The man on the chair was still wearing his poker face. Was it OK for him to overhear the conversation? Well, it wasn’t like it was a secret or anything. “I called him at work, when I got your message,” I said. “He sounded fine, but… I don’t know. He didn’t sound like Mizuki at all. Did something happen to him?”

“I told you that he was acting weird, right? Dry Juice’s members and Beni-shigure members have had some troubles.”

How weird… I leaned against the kitchen wall.

“Mizuki has always stopped the fightings, but this time I had to intervene. He was just watching with a blank face.” Yes, something was up with him. And then I asked him if he was alright, and he just ignored me and left.”

“Yesterday I went to his shop and he told me he was concerned with all the recent disappearances of Rib teams,” I told him.

Koujaku lowered his eyes. “I’ve heard that rumor, too…”

“Tsk.” The man on the chair snorted. “Morphine.”

“What?” Koujaku and I both asked.

“The _mysterious_ disappearances…  doesn’t it sound like Ribsteez need something exciting to talk about among themselves?”

Koujaku pushed in the man’s back. “What did you just say?”

“Doesn’t it mean that you have to stop doing Rib if you’re scared?” the man asked.

“You bastard…” Koujaku just had a cold glare in return. “What’s your name?”

“How rude. It’s good manners to give yours, first.” He smirked. “ _Koujaku_.” He said my friend’s name with the same tone reserved for a disgusting word.

“Do I have to remind you who’s the one with a blade?”

“Don’t get cocky, samurai,” said the man. “You’re still alive because your death is of no use to me.”

“Calm down, you two.” I didn’t want a murder to happen in my kitchen as well. Fighting was kind of fun, pain aside, but killing was something else. I took the man’s bandaged hand in mine and I shook it. “I’m Seragaki Aoba. You are..?”

“…Noiz.” That sounded awfully like a nickname, and somehow I wasn’t surprised.

“No one likes little shits like you,” said Koujaku.

“Like I care,” was Noiz’s reply.

“Son of a bitch…”

“Enough. No blood in the kitchen, OK?” If Koujaku wanted to fight, he could do it outside.

He pushed the blade further into Noiz’s back, then withdrew it. The tip was red with blood. “Come back to bother Aoba and you’ll see what will happen to you. Understood?”

Noiz stood and, without looking back, just went outside the kitchen. He didn’t even blink from the pain. I checked the hallway and saw him leaving. “What a weirdo…”

“I’m no good with guys like that who don’t know how to compromise.” Koujaku dropped into a chair. “And sorry for going nuts with him.”

“No problem.” I went to the fridge and opened it. I took out two cans of soda and gave one to him.

“What did he want from you?”

I opened my can and took a sip. “He was the Drive-Byer who dragged me in a Rhyme battle two days ago. I defeated him, but I have no idea why, and he wanted to know.”

“What!” Koujaku snorted and opened his can, too. “What a loser. Such a mess for… oh.” He blinked. “Isn’t he in a Rhyme team?”

“Does Rhyme have teams, now?” It made sense, though. Ribsteez were leaving turf fighting for mental battles, but the benefits of a team were hard to leave behind.

“I think I’ve met him before. He’s in _Ruff Rabbit_ , if I’m not wrong. Next time I meet him I’m just gonna crush all his bones, little fucker…” Silence lasted for some minutes. “Well…” Koujaku threw the empty can in the bin and stood, straightening his kimono. “Gotta go. If you hear something from Mizuki call me, alright?”

I nodded. “See ya.”

He walked out of the room. “Bye!”

That had been a pretty tough day.


	2. Dang, I forgot my lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who gets another visit from Noiz. And who risks to get in troubles with the police not once, but twice in a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I basically wrote this chapter because I'm even more frustrated than last time. I can't seem to make the good choices to get to the secret route, so bitterness kicks in.  
> Also: the boys get physical. Kind of. Aoba is aware that he's supposed to work, thank goodness. And Noiz is an adorable socially awkward kissing cutiepie. And Koujaku has some brains.  
> Same with previous chapter: I used some of the lines from the fan translation. You can find the link to their work in the notes of the first chapter. Also, I'm not a native speaker, so this chapter has been beta'd by [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) :)

The next day I arrived at Heibon just in time. Haga-san left me in charge of the counter and went out to buy some more junk for the shop. Bonjin-kun was taking care of the back, and I had a lot of free time, since our customers weren’t exactly morning people.

I pulled Ren out of my bag and petted his forehead. I had an idea.

“Aoba. Good morning,” he greeted me, opening his eyes.

“Good morning.”

“Are you feeling all right?” he asked me.

I placed him on the counter and sighed. “My muscles are still a bit sore from yesterday. Fighting is tiring…” But it wasn’t that bad.

“Please, take care of yourself,” he said, wagging his tail.

“Sure. I need your help.” I pulled a cable out of my bag and connected it to my Coil. “I need you to find out who that Noiz guy is.” I doubted I could find something by myself, but Ren was pretty good at doing research.

He rolled on the counter and I plugged the cable in his belly. “Keywords?” he asked.

“Noiz, Rhyme… ” I was thinking. “Try Ruff Rabbit, too.” The input was kind of poor, but I wasn’t really expecting to get some results.

“I am online,” confirmed Ren. I could hear some of his internal mechanisms moving—maybe I could oil them up a bit once at home.

I kept on petting him for a couple of minutes. He was silent—meaning he couldn’t find anything relevant. I’m sure the web was crazy about Rhyme, but was there information about Noiz or his team? “Found anything?” I asked him.

“Not yet,” Ren replied. I just had to wait, so I looked at the shop. Although it was packed with junk, it looked pretty decent, thanks to Bonjin-kun and his cleaning obsession. “Aoba, I have one result.”

I looked at my Coil. The screen displayed the homepage of what looked like a personal blog. The title, _Blood on the mighty rabbit’s fangs_ , appeared on top of the page. “Is this a joke or something?” I scrolled down the page. There was only a blue background, no blog entries. The title was Noiz’s style, but…

At the bottom of the page there was a small link: _More?_

“Ren,” I called. “Is this website safe?”

“Yes.”

I touched the screen of my Coil and clicked the link. I got redirected to another blue screen. There was a question on top of the page: _What’s your name?_

“…is this thing serious?” I asked myself.

“Aoba. The website is related to Rhyme. There is 75% chance that a Rhyme nickname is required.”

“Oh.” It made sense. Still, I didn’t have a Rhyme name, since I wasn’t playing it. Wait… “Ren. Do you remember what Noiz called me in that Rhyme match?” I asked him. Something with blue…

“Affirmative. Sly Blue,” he answered.

I called a digital keyboard out of my Coil and typed the nickname in the blank space in the middle of the screen, then I pressed enter.

A message appeared on the blue background: _Thank you. An agent will soon approach you and give you your personal code._

“Personal code?”

“Yes. An unique code is required to access the website.”

I scratched my cheek. “So you can’t generate it, mmh?” What a weird website. Wait! “Does it mean that Noiz or one of his team members will give me my code personally?”

“I am 85% sure,” replied Ren.

“…dammit.” That had not been a smart move. I didn’t want to meet that weirdo again. I disconnected the cable and put it back in the bag. “Thank you Ren.” I hugged him and turned him off. “Sleep well.”

I fell on the chair and yawned. I almost missed the excitement of the previous evening. The shop’s phone rang and I picked it up. “Good morning, this is Junk Shop Heibon. How can I help you?” I asked with my most professional voice.

Nobody replied.

“Hello?” I asked.

The other person hung up without saying anything. Was it another prank?  Was it Noiz?

I hung up as well. One second after the door opened, I lifted my face and smiled cordially. Maybe it was a customer…

“Noiz?!” I exclaimed. Yes, it was him, from hat to cube chains.

He walked towards the counter, avoiding the piles of junk. “Yo,” he greeted me, his hands in his pockets. He had his poker face, and he looked calm, or, at least, not particularly aggressive. He looked around and his expression didn’t change. “Interesting shop.” Weirdly enough, I didn’t sense mockery in his remark. He looked me in the eyes. “So, you are interested in Rhyme, after all.”

“Not really.” I crossed my arms. I was casually talking to the same guy who broke into my room and messed with my data. “You’re here because of the website and my code, right?” He nodded. “I requested it by accident, I was just doing some research on you and found that site.”

“You used your Rhyme name,” he noted.

“Err, I had to ask Ren for it, since I couldn’t remember it. You called me… Sly Blue, right?” I asked.

“You did some research on me.” Although his face was still emotionless, I could tell from his tone that he was surprised. He put his hands on the table.

“Well, you broke into my house and caused a big commotion. Sorry if I was interested in the weirdo who put his hands on my desktop.” With all my data and passwords, argh.

“Interested,” he repeated slowly. “What have you done to me?” he whispered before leaning forward.

“…what!”  I gasped. His lips had touched mine. A kiss. Out of the blue. My eyes were wide in shock. “What—why?” I asked, blushing like a teenager.

“What _what_?” asked Noiz, perfectly calm. What was wrong with that guy, seriously.

“What was that and why did you randomly kiss me.” When I finished the sentence I realized I was making little sense.

“You just gave yourself the answer.”

The conversation was so surreal I wasn’t even blushing anymore. “People don’t randomly kiss others, you know.” Especially if the day before the above-mentioned people fought and threatened  you.

He didn’t seem bothered at all by my remark, just curious. “Do you mind because I’m a guy?”

“No.” That wasn’t the point. At 23 I was aware of what I liked. Besides, I thought my preferences were kind of obvious. “I mind because I can’t understand you.”

He ignored my puzzled answer and took a cube with a face on it out of his pocket. “Usagimodoki is sending you your personal code.”

“Done!” exclaimed a high-pitched voice, and the cube glowed. At the same time, my Coil rang: I had a message.

“With that you will be able to access our protected network.” Noiz placed his Allmate back in his pocket and stared at me.

I marked the message as important and returned to my Coil’s main screen. “Thank you, I guess.”

“Join my team.” Again, completely out of the blue.

“You mean on Rhyme?” I asked him. What was the problem with this guy? I told him that I browsed his website because I was interested in the thief that was threatening me, not because I was getting into Rhyme. “Do you ever listen to what I say? I am not interested. Can we agree on this?”

“I agree on you joining my team.” I rolled my eyes, but he kept on talking: “You were so strong you defeated me. I want you to play again with me.”

“I told you yesterday as well that I don’t remember anything. I blacked out and barely regained consciousness on my way back. I don’t know what I did.”

This time it was he who let out a small sigh. “I will come back every day until you’ll accept.” So he was going for the passive-aggressive way. “But that’s of minor importance, now.” He glanced at the door. “Today Rhyme is in front of your shop.”

I looked at the door as well. I could hear some voices outside; Rhymers were already gathering? What about coming in to buy something, instead?

“Usui is going to appear here. Our predictions are always on target. And _we_ are going.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me.

“Hey! I can’t leave the shop unattended!”

“Shut up.” He took his Allmate out of his pocket and left it on the counter. Strange, he seemed to have a lot of those cubes…

I took my bag and shook him. His grip was firm so I followed him outside, repressing a growl. I hated to admit it, but it was better not to make him too upset. He could beat me too easily. People were crawling like ants in the street outside the shop. We headed to a small alley packed with guys. “It’s around here.” Noiz kept looking around. He took another cube from his pocket and held it in his hand. His Allmate was kind of cute and he was this tall, intimidating guy… it was an almost creepy combination.

An emblem of light appeared under the feet of some of the guys and in no time they left an empty space around it. Usui appeared in a flash of light, with her multiple arms gracefully lifted in the air and her calm, almost motherly smile.

People started to cheer and scream in excitement, and I looked at Noiz. His face was still blank, but one corner of his lips was raised.

“Just like I said.” Was he… smiling? Goodness. “Go take a look.”

“Don’t assume I like being here in the first place,” I replied.

“Soon you won’t be able to go back, “ he remarked casually. Yes, I had noticed the crowd in commotion. I wanted to turn and walk back, but he put an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t.” He squeezed my shoulder in warning. He was being cheeky as fuck. That guy.

“Yo!” I heard a voice that I knew and turned my head. Koujaku was waving at me, with a sleeping Beni perched on his head.

“Koujaku.” I greeted him. Behind him I could see the Beni-Shigure members with their kimonos and swords.

“How are you? Still on delivery duty?” he asked me, smiling. Then he noticed whose arm wrapped my shoulders and glanced at Noiz. “What are you doing here?” he asked Noiz with an annoyed expression. “Why are you with Aoba?” Well, hello, it took you some time.

“Why should I tell you—?” muttered Noiz.

Koujaku smirked. “Rhyme,” he said, as if the name itself was something disgusting.

“And why are you here? Interested?” Noiz smirked as well. “You don’t even have a chance to survive a match, Rib player.”

“What?” Beni-Shigure members had overheard, apparently, since they were getting nervous.

“Calm down,” Koujaku ordered. He faced Noiz again. “You’re going too far, little brat. Stop it.”

Something bad was going to happen, I could feel it. But I knew that the Beni-Shigure members were tough guys who could take care of themselves, and that Koujaku was a good leader, so I wasn’t too concerned for them.

“Maybe your members are those interested in Rhyme? Nobody cares about Rib anymore.” Noiz was lame at provoking, but he was effective.

I tried to shake his hand off, but it was like iron. Hey, I had nothing to do with that fight! “Why don’t you stop, both of you?” I asked, but nobody cared.

“Your whole muscles and pride stuff is outdated,” Noiz carried on. He was being overly cocky, but I saw more Rhymers with rabbit ears on hats and similar, tacky accessories; I guess he could be cocky, since he wasn’t alone.

“Because fighting in your head won’t soon be, right? It’s just another way to escape reality,” replied Koujaku , petting Beni. He opened his eyes, saw the coming mayhem and flew away to protect himself. Dammit.

“I have no reason to talk to a brainless being.” Noiz tilted his head.

“Repeat it.” The two of them kept on staring at each other and Noiz finally released my shoulders to turn to Koujaku. In the meanwhile, Beni-Shigure members and Ruff Rabbit members were yelling at each other. So mature… that’s why I didn’t want to have anything to do with both Rib and Rhyme.

“You’re a member of Ruff Rabbit, right? The informants. The _rats_.” Koujaku placed a hand over his katana’s handle. “Are you happy with the pennies you make out of that?”

“It’s business. There are a lot of people here who are willing to pay for information… your friend included.” And Noiz placed his hand on my shoulder again.

“Aoba!” exclaimed Koujaku.

“No! Noiz, don’t drag me into this.” I shook off his hand and glared at him. He was already in confidence, the brat. “It was an error,” I explained.

Koujaku gave me a weird look and nodded. “Then I guess that I’ll have to kick your ass for my friend, too,” he said, looking at Noiz.

“You’re full of shit. I wonder how much will come out of your mouth when I’ll beat you senseless?”

Beautiful. A war between Ribsteez and Rhymers, with me right in the middle. I glanced at Usui and saw two guys fighting. They had little audience: more and more people were joining Ruff Rabbit’s members, screaming.

Noiz tilted his head and smiled. Boy he was creepy.

“Koujaku, Noiz! Why don’t you guys just chill?” I suggested. I already knew I was going to be ignored, but I tried anyway.

A Rhymer jumped in front of Noiz and punched a Ribsteez—that was the signal. Two masses of bodies collapsed against each other, and with no set rules, the big fight began. I held my arms in front of my face to protect myself and started hitting everyone with my elbows. I had to get out of there. Was Ren all right..? I looked down at my bag and got a punch in the head.

“Hey!” I yelled. But the guy who punched me was probably already gone, so I bit the bullet and kept on avoiding people. It got relatively easy, since I had to go in the opposite direction of Beni-Shigure members; they knew me pretty well, so they weren’t harming me. When I got outside the crowd I took a deep breath. I was still alive and with no wounds. Some other Ribsteez were running to the crowd with knives. Dammit! What was wrong with people? Rib and Rhyme were just two fucking games.

“You bastards!” A booming voice made me jump. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Akushima… the police! I didn’t wait and just started running. My muscles were still a bit sore, but I focused on the ground and ignored the numbing pain.

I heard some gun shooting. “Rib, Rhyme, either way, you’re getting a death penality!” screamed Akushima on his megaphone. I reached Heibon’s back door  and gave a last look at the running players.

“Aoba!” Koujaku ran in my direction.

I opened Heibon’s door and let him in. Then I locked it and sighed. “We should be fine here.”

Koujaku was smiling like a child, with a bloody lip and a scratch above his eye. After all this time, he still enjoyed fighting. “Sorry I lost it with that little shit. I was planning just to visit you.”

That reminded me… I went to the counter and looked at the table. Noiz’s Allmate was still there, over a couple of notes. I couldn’t believe it. “You actually sold stuff?” I asked it.

“Yes!” the cube replied with his high-pitched voice, before jumping off the table. “Going back, going back!” The cube jumped again on a pile of junk and reached the open window.

I took the notes and looked back at Koujaku, who was frowning. “Was that his Allmate?” I nodded. “He’s been following you since that Drive-By, right?”

“Yes. He wants a rematch.” I fell onto the chair and he laid with his back against the wall. “Apparently I won, but… I don’t remember how.”

“You did?” He blinked in surprise.

“ _Apparently_ , but trust me, I have no idea how,” I complained.

He smiled. I knew he believed me. “So he wants a payback. Little shit with no pride… at this point he’s plainly harassing you.” That sounded so wrong… then I remembered Noiz’s kiss and I agreed. “Are you worried?”

I shook my head. “Not about him.” I recalled what had happened while we were playing Rhyme and I tried to formulate it coherently. “When I was in Rhyme I heard a voice… inside my head.” I scratched my cheek. I sounded like a madman. “And then, like I knew how to fight, I gave instructions to Ren.”

“But you’ve never played Rhyme before…” Koujaku was puzzled as well. He walked towards me and lightly punched my shoulder. “Well, don’t think too hard about it, OK? Otherwise Ren will say: Aoba, your thoughts look like they’re bursting out of your head,” he concluded with a fake robotic voice.

I laughed.

“Also, being dragged into what’s no more than a mind game might have confused you,” he added. “In case you want to talk, I’m always up for it.”

“Thanks.”

In that moment the door opened and Haga-san entered with his arms full of junk. “Oh, Aoba-kun!” He briskly walked to the counter and placed all the stuff on the table. “How has the morning been?”

“Quite good, actually.” Yeah, well, I felt bad for lying to him, but the truth was, that morning had been pretty interesting. And Noiz’s Allmate made money, too.

“Perfect! I will take care of the rest, you’re free to enjoy your afternoon.” The man smiled and wiped his face with his sleeve.

Yes! “Thank you!” I bowed and looked at Koujaku, who pointed at the door with his head.

“What to look up at what the Dry Juice guys are doing?” he suggested.

I nodded and we walked out the shop, waving at Haga-san.

*

Something was wrong with that place. Koujaku and I walked to Dry Juice’s turf. It had always been very lively, filled with food stands, laughing people and music; the members would always hang out in the alleys.

An oppressing silence now ruled those streets. Nobody was there. All the stands were empty, just like wooden skeletons.

“What happened here? It looks like a ghost town…” I was getting worried. Where was Mizuki? And Dry Juice members?

“Do you think they moved to another place?” asked Koujaku.

“Mizuki would have told us,” I argued.

We hurried to their meeting point only to find the alley empty. “Hey!” Koujaku pointed at the walls. The Dry Juice tag art on the walls had been erased with black spray.

They had been defeated. And next to the black scribbles, another tag art. Who had defeated them?

A pink heart surrounded by a halo in front of a winged cross. It took me a second to recognize it. “Morphine..?” How was it possible? Wasn’t it an urban legend?

“Mysterious disappearances my ass…” muttered Koujaku.

But how? Dry Juice was the largest and strongest Rib team. How could they have been defeated? Maybe it was a prank? But then where were Mizuki and the members? “Hey!” I screamed. “Is there anyone here? Mizuki!” But only my echo returned to me.

“Let’s try Black Needle,” suggested Koujaku.

We ran to Mizuki’s tattoo shop just to find the little square empty. There was trash and broken glass everywhere. On the staircase, a giant Morphine tag art and… “Blood!” My heart was racing. What had happened to my friends? The blood didn’t look too old. I looked around. This was more than a Rib’s usual turf battle. Morphine…

“Shit.” Koujaku touched his Coil’s screen. “Mizuki isn’t picking up.”

Footsteps made both of us turn.

“Hey, I was wondering who it was. Fancy meeting you here, Aoba-san,” Virus greeted me, adjusting his tie.

“Yohoo, Aoba.” Trip waved at me, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Yo.” I was relieved to see them there. Maybe they knew something about the disappearance of Dry Juice? “Why are you guys here?”

Virus smiled and explained with his soft voice: “We’re in charge of the area around here.”

Koujaku stepped forward. “Yakuza?” he asked, frowning. “Are you two twins? You look exactly alike,” he added.

“We’re not,” they said in unison.

“Why do you know yakuza people, Aoba?” Koujaku asked with a low voice.

“They weren’t yakuza when I first met them. It happened when you left the island,” I explained.

“Yup, we’re just old friends,” confirmed Virus. “Nothing to do with work,” added Trip, smiling. “We use common sense in our business, even if it’s a violent one, and we don’t break any rules. Nice to meet you.”

“Yakuza is still yakuza,” growled Koujaku. I didn’t know he hated it so much…

“And Team Heads are still those who deal with both police officers and yakuza,” remarked Virus lightly. Koujaku snorted. “By the way, Aoba, isn’t one of your friends the Head of Dry Juice? Did they move somewhere else?”

So they didn’t know, either. I pointed at the surrounding with my finger. “Morphine’s tag is over Dry Juice’s and we can’t see to get in touch with Mizuki.”

“Morphine, the fantasy team…” said Trip, looking around. “We couldn’t find any Dry Juice member yesterday night as well.”

“It looks like a kidnapping,” said Virus, adjusting his glasses. “Of an entire team, how vicious…”

“We’ll contact you in case of new info.” Trip glanced at the blood on the staircase and shook his head.

I saw Koujaku clutching his fists, but I ignored it. After all, those two were still decent human beings, regardless of their job. “Thanks.”

“Also, Aoba-san, I’d suggest that you and your friend run.” Virus smiled cheerfully.

“The police,” explains Trip. We heard some noises coming from the left. “Please, stay safe.”

I nodded and looked at Koujaku. We both started to run in the direction Virus was pointing at. We heard some shooting, but I wasn’t too worried. Those two knew how to handle that kind of situations. I, on the other hand, was still tired from the fighting of the day after.

*

I was walking in the main street, lost in my thoughts. Koujaku had left to ask his members if they knew anything about Morphine. I finished my ice cream and threw the thin paper in a bin nearby. Twilight was about to fall and it was time to go home.

My Coil rang and I checked the screen. A message from Captive Princess… “Spam?” The subject said _Please save me_. While I was staring at my Coil, I got another message.

…the same. From Captive Princess, _Please save me_. And again! My Coil kept on ringing while I was getting the same message over and over. And they all contained an attachment…

I started Ren up. “Aoba.”

“Ren, what’s wrong with those messages? Are they a virus or something?” I asked him.

“I’m investigating it.” Ren got silent for a bit. “Analysis complete. No virus found, and if there is one, it has  counter-measures installed.”

I rolled my eyes  and just opened one. They stopped coming. What?! And the text was blank. My Coil rang again.

“A game application is being transmitted,” warned me Ren.

A game… the second demo of that cute retro release I got some days ago, maybe? My Coil completed the download and I stared at the screen. There was no start button on the pixel-ish menu, it just started by itself. I touched the screen to control my little knight avatar, but nothing happened. “It’s not working…”

Then the character started to move. He faced a closed door and walked to its left and right. A pink haired character walked towards him at the other side of the fence, but was surrounded by black bats and dragged to an island. The end.

“What the hell? It looks like one of those deep games nobody understands,” I snorted, closing it. Wait a moment. Pink hair… I opened the game again, but I only got the menu screen. It wasn’t playing anymore. And right above the speed selection, a cross. A cross… I had already seen it.

“Morphine!” I exclaimed. Yes, that cross was part of Morphine’s tag art. I had a bad feeling tightening my chest.

“Aoba?” asked Ren.

“I’m going home,” I announced. I touched my Coil’s screen and reached my phonebook. I called Granny’s Coil. What a weird game… maybe it was a message. But why? Who would like to preannounce something like a kidnapping?

No response from Granny’s Coil. I almost expected it, because she never really used her Coil. I walked faster and called home. Nobody picked up.

I began to run.


	3. I wish I could sing with this fine voice o'mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mink appears, and he acts kind of reasonably, thank goodness. Also, the guys decide to kick some asses!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to cut Clear's character because of... well, practical issues. Poor creature! He has been my first choice in the game, so I kind of love him. I plan to write something about him soon.  
> Also, Mink's character here is different. I mean, do you really need to get Aoba almost raped to check he's the right guy? Aoba's Scrap is a bit different, too.  
> ...I just hope to play the secret route really, really soon, so I can polish the rest of the outline.  
> As always: some lines are taken from the fan translation. Also: this chapter has been beta'd by [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) :)

No lights were on in the house; I could see it from afar. When I reached the front door I took a couple of seconds to catch my breath again. Something was wrong, Granny should have been cooking… but the house looked empty. Maybe it was an ambush?

 …for me? But why?

I shook my head and lowered the knob. The door was already open. Dammit! I entered and looked around. The entrance was pitch black, but before turning on the light, I had to make sure that nobody was there and Granny was safe. I had a really bad feeling.

When my eyes adjusted to the absence of light, I saw a person lying next to the cupboard. Granny? No, it was someone bigger and taller, it was a guy. He was lying face down between the shoes. I got closer and touched his leg with my boot. No movement. I lightly kicked him and again, but there was no answer: he had been knocked out. I bent down and turned over his body. I had already seen him somewhere, I remembered the short hair and the aquiline nose. He had something on his neck – a wound? I touched my Coil and the screen dimly lightened the scene. The guy had a tattoo on his throat. A heart circled by a winged halo… it was Morphine’s tag art.

I stood up at the sound of footsteps and I assumed a defensive position. A huge guy came from the living room. He was so tall I had to look up, and he looked awfully muscular. But he was alone. “What have you done to Granny?” I asked him in a low voice. I was ready to fight him, even if he was twice my size. And where was she?

“Nothing.” He turned on the light. He looked around forty-something, with strong features and cold eyes. His braided hair was lying on his chest and he was wearing a long, torn coat. He took something from his breast pocket and showed it to me: it was my medicine box. “What is this?”

“Give it back!” I growled. “It’s my headache medicine.” I was ready to jump on him, but I preferred to wait, since I was sure he was way stronger than I was.

A corner of his lips rose and he put the box back in his pocket. “I see. You’re like a junkie.”

I clenched my fists. “Fuck no! Granny is a pharmacist and she made that for me.” Blood rushed to my head. “Answer me! What have you done to her?”

He looked at me in the eyes and crossed his arms on his broad chest. “As I said, nothing. She was already gone when I arrived.”

Dammit! “And why did you break into my house? What do you want from me?” I asked him. He was already the second one in a couple of days, what was wrong with _people_?

“You need my help,” he said. What? “And I need you to help me as well.”

Yeah, like, what the hell. How could I need his help, I didn’t even know him! “Stop being obscure as fuck and just tell me why I’m supposed to need you,” I growled.

I didn’t like the grimace on his face. “Your grandmother. I can help you rescue her.”

“How?” I asked.

“Also.” He ignored me and looked down at me. “I have your medicine and the prescription. You need me.”

“And how can you help me? Do you know where she is?” I was losing it.

He walked towards me. I stepped back defensively, but he just looked down. He was touching the throat of the knocked-out guy with his boot. In the light I could see the Morphine tag art better. It was on a black background, like… like the spray on the tag art of defeated teams. And under the black, some light blue lines and dots that I knew too well.

“Dry Juice?” I muttered. My heart skipped a beat. Mizuki. Had Mizuki ordered it? Did he know that one of his members… or maybe more… I was speechless.

“They came to your house before we did,” said the man. _We_ did? So he wasn’t alone. Good to know. “He was the only one left, the others were already gone. We have nothing to do with your grandmother.”

I took a deep breath. So a big chunk of the group was here? My hands were shaking. How could they do this to Granny, to me? Mizuki knew her! And why, _why_? “So how can you help me to find her?” I still wasn’t sure about that man, he was suspicious as hell with his broken handcuffs and metal collar. But he was giving me information I needed and couldn’t get without him, I had to credit him for that. My mind was in a frenzy, but I was trying to be rational, to think, to think.

“We’re tracking down the other members right now. They shouldn’t be too far.”

“You told me you need me,” I said. “For what?” I didn’t like that part. I didn’t like the guy in the first place, since he had just taken my medicine and started bossing around. I had the feeling I couldn’t really say no to him—his bare arm was _huge_. That guy was too strong for me.

“…your lack of self-awareness,” he said. And how was this related..? “Shintani!” he called. The door behind my back opened and I turned immediately to it. A guy with heavy eye bags and a dirty cape entered the room.

“And who on Earth are you?”

“Shintani here, is fascinated with your voice,” said the first man. I gave a look at the Shintani guy, who was smiling like a creep.

“What? My voice?” I had never seen him before, how could he like my voice? Was he one of the pervs who called me at work?

“Yes, your beautiful, beautiful voice…” whispered the guy. I shivered. His tone of voice was sugary and disgusting.

The huge man came closer and I stiffened. His glare was cold and threatening. “If you agree to use your voice to help me, I will help _you_. You can’t take down Dry Juice alone, kid.”

“I can’t really say no, can I?” I grimaced. I had already figured that out. “Do I only need to talk? And what’s your name, by the way?” Questions, questions, questions. They were swirling in my head, with the pictures of Granny and Mizuki and the other Dry Juice members.

“Mink,” said the man. He looked at the Shintani guy and this walked to the Dry Juice member. He took the other’s wrists and pulled him outside. “You’re right,” continued Mink, “you can’t say no. But our agreement is reasonable.”

“My ass…” I muttered. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t punch me or fight with me, although he totally looked like the type who would, but still. His calm attitude was out of place—Granny had been kidnapped, dammit!—and what was wrong with the other guy?

“You cannot do anything for your grandmother right now. We will meet here at noon to decide what to do.” Mink passed me. “Rest, tomorrow will be a long day.” And with these words, he left the house.

When I was sure the two men were gone—no footsteps anymore, no voices—a wave of exhaustion hit me and I fell to my knees. Granny… I was too weak to rescue her alone. Where was I supposed to start? Mink was at least tracking down the members. I could rely on him… I had to rely on him. A twinge of pain in my head made me squint. I didn’t even had my medicine with me. I closed the door and walked to Granny’s room. I turned on the light and checked it; it was neat as always. Maybe she was sleeping when they had kidnapped her. I sighed and covered my forehead. How was I supposed to sleep?

*

“Are you alright, Aoba-kun? You look pale.” Haga-san sat next to me at the counter.

I had not eaten breakfast that morning. I wasn’t hungry, I was just… tired. I had not slept, of course, but I was still at work, since I couldn’t do anything in the meanwhile and that day my turn would have ended at noon, just in time to come back home and meet Mink. I had also already called Koujaku, asking him to come around that time. _The more the merrier_.

“I am all right,” I replied. I felt a little sick inside, because I was lying to Haga-san the whole time and he was too goodhearted to actually doubt my words.

“You know I can help you with anything you need, right?” He put a plastic bag on the counter and took out a rag doll.

I took out a metal plate. I nodded. “I know, thank you.” That comforted me a bit—still, I didn’t want him to know that Granny had been kidnapped. I looked closely at the rusty plate. I could focus on my work and put aside for a while everything that had happened.

*

When I came back home a few minutes past noon, I found Koujaku and Mink in front of the door.

“You bastard… you’re Scratch’s Head, aren’t you!” growled Koujaku. Scratch… wasn’t it the Rib team made up of prisoners? That explained Mink’s broken constraints. “Why don’t you go back to your cell like a good boy?” Well, that was bold. I wasn’t the only one getting grumpier, apparently. I approached them and Koujaku noticed me. “Aoba! What is he doing here?” he asked, pointing at the other man.

I had three pairs of eyes on me. A pink cockatoo was perched on Mink’s shoulder, with a cigar in its beak. “He… Mink will help us,” I said.

“You clearly don’t think before you speak,” said Mink, facing Koujaku. He didn’t look upset, just icy as the night before.

“And how is he supposed to help us?” Koujaku asked me, frowning.

The situation was getting nasty. “Let’s go inside,” I suggested. I passed them and unlocked the door. I appreciated the fact that Mink hadn’t just broken in like the night before. He got in and walked to the living room, while Koujaku looked at me, rolled his eyes and walked in after the other. I followed them and we sat on the sofas, around the small table. Granny’s empty cup of tea was still on it.

“So, what happened to Tae-san?” asked Koujaku. I couldn’t tell him on the phone or via message, I had to say it to him in person. He cared too much about her to just get a cold message, or at least that’s what I had thought.

I took a deep breath. “She was…” I was hesitating. It hurt. “She was kidnapped.”

“What?” Koujaku’s eyes were open wide. “By who?” he asked, clenching his fists.

“Morphine,” answered Mink, lighting a pipe.

“Are you stupid or something?” Koujaku crossed his arms. “Tae-san doesn’t play Rib, you know?”

“Koujaku… I saw their tag art. A guy had it tattooed on his neck.” I bit my lip.

Mink breathed out a puff of white smoke and pointed his pipe to the door. “Hey,” he interrupted. He turned to the cockatoo on his shoulder and the bird flapped his wings, flying to the door. He opened it with his beak and landed on the ground. Koujaku and I were staring at him, puzzled. He flew back and dropped a white cube on the table. Wait a moment…

“P!” squeaked the cube.

“What’s that?” asked Koujaku, poking it with his finger.

“Noiz’s Allmate,” I replied.

“Again?” Koujaku snorted. “Does he eavesdrop as a hobby?”

“An acquaintance?” Mink breathed out another puff of smoke.

“I guess you could call him like that, yeah.” I took the Allmate in my hand and looked at it. It squeaked again.

“That,” Mink pointed at the cube in my hand, “looks like an information gathering type.” Then he smirked and crossed his legs. “Call the guy here.”

“Huh?”

“Use the same tone of voice you use at the shop,” Mink ordered me.

It made sense. Wasn’t that guy with Mink fascinated by my voice? And what about all the calls I got from different guys? My voice was highly persuasive, apparently. And since we needed to know where Granny was, Noiz was the perfect guy. If he was able to track down Usui, he could also track down Dry Juice members, right?

I held the cube closer to my lips. Koujaku raised an eyebrow, but stayed still. “…Noiz?” I asked. I was using my professional tone of voice, the one I used with customers, just more… demanding. “You’re there, right? Are you listening?”

Did I hear a sigh? Of… relief?

“Stuff happened, and it’s serious,” I continued. “And we… we might not be enough. Would you lend me a hand until it’s over?” But he didn’t look like a guy who did stuff for free. I had to give him something in exchange. “I’ll do Rhyme with you again when all of this will be over. Please.”

“Aoba?” Koujaku was worried, and I was as well. I was basically throwing myself in the arms of my harasser.

A minute passed and the door opened. We all turned. Noiz was standing there, blank-faced. His arms were limp, not in his pockets as usual. He moved his lips, but said nothing.

“What?” I asked.

He walked towards me and muttered: “You called.” He was strange. That wasn’t his usual poker face, it was possibly even more unreadable. Mink smirked, while Koujaku stared at Noiz, confused.

Why wasn’t he his usual self? “Are you all right?” I asked him.

Noiz shook his head slightly and the life came back into his eyes. “Yes.” He sat on the sofa next to me, and I saw Koujaku frown. He was in the same room with two of his least favorite people, I could understand him.

“Isn’t Dry Juice the largest Rib team?” asked Noiz, placing a foot on the sofa and sprawling out.

“Wait. What does Dry Juice have to do with it?” asked Koujaku, looking at me.

I gave the cube back to Noiz and bit my lip. “Yesterday, Mink knocked down a Morphine member. I… I had already seen that guy around. He was a Dry Juice member.” Koujaku was speechless. “Dry Juice’s tattoo had been replaced by Morphine’s.”

“But Mizuki…”

“Back to the important things.” Mink looked at Noiz and I. “Dry Juice has members everywhere, and they have all been abducted. They are an army.”

I gave a look at Koujaku. He was in shock. Mizuki was our friend and he… he didn’t stop his members? Or worse… he organized all of it? It made me twitch inside.

“They must be in a isolated place,” added Noiz, adjusting his green tie.

“And a big one,” I said.

“The kind of place nobody’s allowed to get in, so they could be sure nobody met them by accident.” Noiz took out a cube from his pockets.

“As I said, an information gathering lunatic would know.” Mink was still smirking.

“I am not a lunatic,” was the caustic reply.

“Your grandmother has been taken in the Northern neighborhood.” Mink looked at his pipe, disinterested.

“There are several unused warehouses there,” confirmed Koujaku.

Mink pointed his pipe to Noiz. “Investigate it.”

The other man looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “ I don’t remember taking orders from you.” He placed his Allmate on the table and touched it. A digital screen appeared in front of us. “Also, I was already doing it,” he added with a cocky smile. He was typing soundlessy on a virtual keyboard.

Koujaku clicked his tongue and turned to Mink. “How come you act like you’re the boss, here?”

“Take the initiative, then,” replied the man.

Koujaku leaned forward, aggressively, but Noiz cut them off. “Both of you, shut up.” I looked at the screen. There was a map of the Old Resident District with a red arrow near the top. “They are there. I tried to access their network, but I got an error. If it was a normal off-limits area, it wouldn’t have a network in the first place.” Yes! So we were on the right track. “The network of this place has a blank error screen.” Everybody was listening to him, and I guess he was the only one who could understand what he was talking about; he apparently noticed it, because he added: “In short, it’s a fake. It’s trying to emulate a dysfunctional network.”

“So we were right.” Koujaku smiled.

“I guess. There used to be a lot of treatment plants built here,” said Noiz.

“But they all closed and became off-limits a few years ago,” I added.

“And it’s used as an illegal dump…” Koujaku was worried as I was. Granny was in a place like that…

Mink took out a pocket watch and gave a look at it. “I got some reports about where the Dry Juice members are. The data matches.”

We got no concrete proof that she was there, but we had to try.

“Shall we… go?” I suggested. It was still early, and Granny…

 “Aoba,” said Koujaku, “you look awfully tired. And we…” he paused, “will have to fight.” He looked reluctantly at Mink and Noiz.

“I know, but…”

“Eat something,” Noiz interrupted me. “And rest for an hour. Being tired is not efficient.”

I glared at him. “Shouldn’t we plan something?”

“There’s no guarantee the plan will be followed, since we don’t know how the situation is there,” said Mink.

I sighed and got up. “Fine, then.” I took Granny’s teacup from the table and walked towards the kitchen. “We will leave in two hours. Please, make yourself at home,” I said to the three, leaving the living room.

Once in the kitchen I placed the cup in the sink and stared at it. I felt a huge weight on my shoulder, all the pressure of those days collapsing on me. I closed my eyes and started breathing slowly, until I felt someone next to me and I blinked. It was Noiz. “What have you done to me?” he asked, looking me in the eyes. Before I could answer him or even think about an answer, he left.

I didn’t know. Granny, and Mizuki, and him… I didn’t know.


	4. Is it Rib or Lib? Levi or Rivaille? Ah, those Japanese—oh, wait.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba kicks some asses, uses Scrap, plays Rhyme and doesn't understand anything that's happening to him, poor thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I know that nobody cares, but his chapter took me a while because I had to wait until I could play the secret route (aka: find a guide that could lead me to it).  
> And I had to suppress the idea of a crossover DRAMAtical Murder/Shingeki no Kyojin. That would have been so awful I would have punched myself while writing it, but I still honored the idea in the title.  
> As always: I based it on the fan translation of the game. And I'm no native speaker, so yay for [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) who beta'd the chapter :D

We arrived at the Northern District at twilight. The one-hour nap I had planned to take had become three hours long; Koujaku had taken my Coil so that the alarm wouldn’t wake me up. But I wasn’t too mad at him, since I had rested and I felt like I would be more effective against our opponents.

Koujaku had also called some members of Beni-Shigure to support us—and yes, my house was the gathering point. Their yelling had woke me up, as did the loud voice of Koujaku arguing with Mink, and the smell of pizza.

But we were finally there. The Northern District was a warehouse grave; the buildings were abandoned and filled with debris like a dumpster. No trespassing. Nobody was there and it really looked like a grave.

Noiz looked around and looked at his Coil. “Follow me,” he muttered, and went ahead in the mountain range made of trash. Old couches covered in mold, cars, and black bags covered by bugs, everything  gave off a dead, rotten smell that made me wrinkle my nose.

I let some Beni-Shigure members pass me and look closer at the fence that limited that area. “It looks like the place from the game…” I said to myself. I had read enough novels to understand that it was too fucking weird not to be a coincidence. So someone was warning me..? But who? And why? Mizuki, maybe—but then he could have not kidnapped Granny in the first place. It was getting too confusing for my tastes. I wanted  to know more about that game, and I figured that Noiz was the smartass to ask. I would ask him after we rescued Granny.

“Isn’t there a treatment center around here?” he asked.

“There should be the car factory they had to evacuate for security reasons,” replied one Beni-Shigure girl, adjusting the long sleeve of her kimono.

Noiz snorted and projected a map on a car’s door. It was the Northern District. He zoomed on the red arrow that was pointing at the building with a dummy network system and said: “Yes, it’s the tallest building in this area.” He closed the map and walked toward the only building we could see beyond the trees, reddened by twilight. The path was clear, and two walls of trash and debris were marking it. Well, _that_ was suspicious.  The trash was getting older, but the bugs were still there, feeding on cats’ corpses. The building was a simple—and huge—factory with tall chimneys on top. Noiz turned at us. “They’re  in there.”

“Let’s go,” I said, clenching my fists.

The Beni-Shigure fell silent and took out their wooden swords—Koujaku’s idea, since he wasn’t planning on killing the Dry Juice members, we just needed to knock them out. Mink cracked his knuckles and followed Noiz. Footsteps apart, I could hear some faint voices from inside the building. How many were they? I knew that Dry Juice was big, but I didn’t know how. I touched the bag under my arm. Ren was in Sleep Mode, like everyone’s Allmates but Noiz’s, since his cubes were, in his words, “a bit more special than your birds and dogs”. Oh, well.

There was a door slightly open that looked like a back entrance. They were basically asking us to go inside, weren’t they? Koujaku ran toward it and peeked inside.

“We’re all going in.” Mink gave a look at the Beni-Shigure members, but didn’t add anything nasty.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the right chance to go in? We don’t know what to expect, there,” Koujaku pointed out.

“It’s a trap.” Noiz sat down and projected a digital keyboard onto the ground. “They set it up and you have to follow their rules.” He started typing with an incredible speed. “You can just blow up that place and probably the old lady with it, or you can…” he paused “…use their tools at your advantage. There are at least two hundred different guys in there.”

I gasped. I didn’t care how he managed to know, but I trusted his words, and that was horrible, because we were barely twenty…

“You can all go inside,” continued Noiz. “I will make sure they won’t communicate with whoever set up this trap and I’ll erase your real-time history.”

Boy he could take the lead. I exchanged a brief look with Koujaku, the Beni-Shigure members and Mink. We were all fine with it, although Noiz would have been a nice addition to the pack.

“There are no problems on my side,” said Noiz, lifting his fingers from the keyboard. I approached him, looking at his Coil’s screen. “—What?” he asked. He looked like he wanted to kill me or something.

I scratched my cheek. There was something I had to do before risking my life, and that was behaving like a decent person. “I just wanted to thank you for all the work you’re doing.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly, I guess he was surprised, but he kept looking at the screen. “Are you nervous?” he asked. I nodded. I was mainly talking to him because I was so confused, and he was the one who had given me answers. “I’m not gonna screw up, so whatever.  Just focus on taking down at least ten guys by yourself, then start worrying over the others. No wooden sword for you?” he added.

“Nope. I don’t know how to use it anyway,” I said. “And losing it to an opponent would be pretty stupid.”

“Indeed. Now…” he gave a look at the building and I followed his gaze. Koujaku, Beni-Shigure members and Mink were waiting for me. I took a deep breath and walked toward them.

“Let’s go,” Mink pointed at the door and Koujaku opened it.

The open door was the only source of dim lightning. There was a huge crowd of black clothed guys in the back of the room. They were part of Morphine… so Dry Juice. They all turned to face us. One second after, they were running full speed against us.

Adrenaline was pumping in my blood. We ran into the room and spread. I didn’t care about the others, I knew they were all good fighters. I had to knock down my ten guys. The closest to me had his hands in his pockets. How dumb was he? I put my hands on the ground and side-kicked his ankle. He was about to fall on me, but I rolled to the left and hit his face with my heel. _Oops, nose cracking. Get smart the next time._ Just to be sure, I knocked his stomach with my elbows. That one had been easy.

I stood up and saw another guy coming for me, with blank eyes and a poker face like Noiz’s. I ducked his punch and grabbed his arm. Now, this was tricky. The blood rushing in my ears dictated what to do. The guy was lighter than I was, so I slammed him on the wall, but that wasn’t enough. Thank goodness I was in a corner, so I could just grab his ear and smash his head against the next wall. He lost consciousness and I ran away from the corner. Eight more.

 

More guys were coming in while we were fighting, and none of them spoke a word. They looked brainwashed, a _tabula rasa_ with some “fight to death” orders scribbled on it.

I tasted blood in my mouth. My left arm hurt like hell, and since a guy had charged me like a bull and had smashed me to the wall, the rest of my body wasn’t so fresh either.

Mink approached me with his fists covered in blood. “Fewer are coming. This is just a decoy,” he growled. He pointed with his head to a small door and started running toward it. I gave a look at Koujaku, who yelled at me: “We got them!” He was smiling and holding two wooden swords.

“Thanks!” I followed Mink inside the warehouse.

We got into a long hallway. The side doors were unhinged and the cold lights were flickering. Three black-clothed guys appeared at the end.

“…I’ll deal with them,” Mink said, swinging his fists while running. I ducked the men and reached the inside of the factory.

…which was an open space that looked like a parking space. I guess the building was L-shaped or something. There was only a car and a black van, and unlike the other cars I had seen there, they were shiny and new. _Like virgins_ … The door of the van opened and some others guys in black hoodies jumped out. Dammit, I already knocked out twelve of them! And then I recognized a wrinkled, tired face under a cover of pink locks. I sank my fingernails deep on my palms with rage. “Granny!” I yelled. How dared they.

Two guys were holding her from both sides, forcing her to walk. She looked pale and weak. When they noticed me, three other ran toward me, but I had had enough of that shit already. I was ready to kick their souls out of their noses, but a voice called for them to stop.

And I recognized that voice. A guy with a black hoodie just walked to the center of the parking. He didn’t need to pull down his hood, because I knew him. Red hair, mischievous smile, and a white teardrop tattooed under his eye. My heart stopped anyway. I had hoped otherwise, but Mizuki…

“I almost didn’t think you’d come all the way out here,” he said, tilting his head. “But I knew you were up for something. You didn’t treat my friend that were searching for you well.” He was referring to the guy Mink had knocked out the day before.

But that wasn’t the face of the Mizuki I knew. The smile he wore was disgusting, and I didn’t know how to feel. My hands were shaking, but I felt calm inside, maybe because too much was happening to me I had lost all my landmarks. The geography of my feelings was all fucked up.

“Koujaku and I were worried when we went to your place,” I said. I looked at him right in the eyes. “It was deserted, with fresh blood and Morphine’s tag art over Dry Juice’s.” I was simply recalling memories and facts out loud. Maybe he could explain me what the fuck had happened there and why his neck tattoo was covered by a winged heart surrounded by a halo.

“We’re reborn as members of Morphine, isn’t it great?” He placed his hands in his hoodie’s pocket and I heard a strange click. There was a weird edge poking the inside of the pocket. A knife. I stood still, throwing away my idea to punch him senseless. “And being Morphine is being like God; a winning, undefeatable God,” he continued, before laughing, distorted and desperate.

“You’re going nuts.” I had to be careful not to imitate him. He still had a knife in his pocket and some fresh guys ready to fight, while I was getting tired, one step away from the biggest mental breakdown of my life.

“Uh?” He tilted his head to the side. “You’re the weird one. You never accepted my invite to join Rib.” His smile faded. “Never.”

“Are you planning to offer me an even higher position right now?” I asked. His smile became less disturbing and I figured out that yes, that was his plan. “I’m not gonna accept it,” I added. I wanted him to be angry. I knew his flaws: he was a very chill guy, but when he grew annoyed with something, he let this something rule over him. He focused on the trivial things that annoyed him, forgetting about the rest for a very short period of time. I had less than one minute. And if I distracted him enough, I would have had his attention, so eyes on me, knife on me and kicks on me. The other guys looked like dolls anyway, standing still with blank faces.

“Whatever. I have a great idea anyway.” He took out his knife. Perfect. He was focused on me. “Aoba… you really love your grandmother, don’t you?”

Son of a bitch.

He raised the knife and suddenly there was one on Granny’s throat as well, pulled out by one of the hoodied guys. I wiped the sweat from my forehead. He walked backwards, slowly, and reached Granny. He also put a knife under her chin.

“Stop it.”

“I will… if you join my team,” he answered.

Granny’s face became stiff and she closed her eyes. She was shaking as well, and her dress was all dirty. I couldn’t know what she had endured, but she was ready to accept it.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Rage ran in my veins like blood. Pure, blind fury. I wanted to smash Mizuki’s face to the ground and feast upon his open skull. I wanted to see the color of a brain in its last seconds of life. The urge to tear skin and muscles and nerves was so intense I shivered.

“You think I’m just bluffing, I’m all talk?” His fucking voice… “Fine, then.”

I opened my eyes and looked right into his. He froze. He let the knife fall on the ground, but he was still holding Granny. I slowly reached him in that surreal silence. A step every heartbeat, until I grabbed his neck, and my vision became blurry.

I recognized what was going on inside me. In Rhyme, with Noiz… I recollected fragments of memory, a long time ago. Red sparks and a tunnel of thunders made me blink before I found myself in Black Needle, Mizuki’s tattoo shop. The customers waiting in the corner bar, the pictures of Mizuki’s best designs and the colorful furniture…it was all right, all as it used to be. Curiously enough, I wasn’t angry anymore. That urge for flesh was gone, leaving me more empty and drained than before. Why was I in Black Needle? I gave a better look at the customers and I stepped back. They were faceless. No eyes, no nose, not even cheeks. Just slimy mouths with long, hanging tongues, red like blood.

“Rib is so out of style!” exclaimed a high-pitched voice.

“Yeah, Rhyme is so much better!”

“Everyone doing Rib is dropping dead… I guess the game will die as well pretty soon,” replied another voice, loud as the others. What was wrong with them? They were giving me headache, and Mink had still my medicines. But I was pulled into a dream, right? …Mizuki’s?

My ears felt hot and I touched them. My hand was covered by a black, sticky liquid. What? It was coming out of me? I gave a better look and it was an infinite chain of hiragana and katakana syllables. They were forming words, words that I knew but couldn’t recognize. It was a fucking nightmare and I wanted to wake up, I had never had a lucid dream and I was busy saving Granny. What the fuck was happening?

I looked at the customers and they all had a face. Boys and girls, I could recognize them, they were all Dry Juice members. There was just one person with red hair and a featureless face. He turned and start walking to the tattoo parlor of the shop. I followed him, but when I entered the room I found myself in the Dry Juice HQ. He was sitting on the stairs, right under the gigantic tag art of his team.

I touched his shoulder. “Mizuki.”

He looked at me with teary eyes. “Aoba… help me.” A fountain of blood sprayed from his body and the Dry Juice tag art became the Morphine tag art. His clothes and mine were soaked, and the bitter smell hit me, but I just cleaned my hands and ignored the blood that was dripping from my hair.

“What happened to you?” I asked him.

“I don’t know what to do,” he cried. “Rib it’s so fun, I love it and I…” he looked at his bloody hands “…I care about Dry Juice. I work so hard so everyone can enjoy it, we can be a family.”

He wanted me to help him, and I began with the easiest way, stating facts. “You are the largest team,” I confirmed. “The most loved one. Everybody knows about you and your love for it, Mizuki.” Something inside me was telling me that those were the words he needed. Recognition. Help.

“But that’s not enough anymore!” he yelled. “Everyone’s getting into Rhyme and they just don’t care, they don’t care about Rib or Dry Juice anymore. These are just two games and people always want new ways to have fun, but… Dry Juice is too important for me to let go!”

I sat next to him. How weird. I felt like I had plenty of choice in that moment. I felt like I was holding Mizuki’s life between my fingers. “Rhyme is starting to get teams as well,” I said. “They need to imitate Dry Juice. They still care about you and your ways.”

“All the effort I put into friendships is crumbling away.” Mizuki shook his head. “We’re losing members and we don’t get new recruits…”

I had never realized that he was serious about Dry Juice at the point where it hurt him. I thought we were pretty close, but this proved me wrong. I thought he was strong and confident, but he crumbling inside under the weight of his failure—that wasn’t even a failure.

“What happened with Morphine, then?” I asked. That Mizuki was completely different from the one who had pointed a knife at Granny’s throat. That Mizuki was crying and letting his bare emotions come out, the other  one wore a disturbing smile. I knew which one was the true Mizuki.

“I met this guy, he told me he was Morphine… he was weird, he always knew what I was thinking. He was creepy as hell, until I met more members and realized they were alright.” I wanted to ask him how did the guy look like, but Mizuki was still talking. “And since Morphine is the legendary team, I just thought that joining them would have saved Dry Juice.” His voice was getting fainter and I detected something wrong.

“Mizuki!” I grabbed his shoulders and made him face me. “It’s okay to make errors. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes. You just did something wrong!” I was rushing through my words. I had a bad feeling. “You can always fix everything, remember it! You can always do something to lessen the damage. It’s OK to be mistaken, sometimes.” But I didn’t want him to feel ashamed. He was looking at me, his face distorted in pain. “I will still be your friend!” And it was funny, since he had just threatened Granny with a knife, but I didn’t care at the moment, because I knew that that wasn’t him. “And Koujaku as well.” I shook his shoulders. “You are still the leaser of Dry Juice, the best Rib team of Midorijima, the largest, the most well-known. Everybody knows your name. They see you as a role model.”

“But I’m not!” he cried.

“You are.” I wiped his tears with my bloody sleeve. His face got even messier, but I didn’t care. “Role models are great not because they are good, but because they try to be. You are human, you have your flaws. Still, I know that you will fix everything. You will handle your responsibilities. That’s what a role model is for.”

He blinked. He looked completely stupid, blood and tears and messy hair.

“Do you believe me?” I asked.

He looked down. “Yes.”

I took a step back and found myself in the parking lot. I was touching Mizuki’s neck with my fingertips; his body got limp and fell on the ground. I caught him just in time. “Hey!” I laid him on the ground and looked around, but something was dragging me down. What was this—again? No, it was different. It was…

“Rhyme?!”

I was trapped in a room with only a ground floor and ceiling. Infinite and traveled by blue, artificial thunderbolts. An artificial voice was repeating on loop a message I couldn’t understand.

“Yes. And we have been pulled in by force again.” Ren appeared in front of me, covered by his dark cape.

“Another Drive-By…  but my opponent is not Noiz again.” I was pretty confident about it. The boy wasn’t that stupid. Also, from what I had understood, he was for efficiency and _kind of_ fair play. Aka I was tired and he was not, so the fight would have been unbalanced. “Who in the world…” A blue figure appeared in front of Ren and I. It was a man around fifty, with a tweed suit and glasses. I recognized the wrinkled features. “Toue?”

“I’ve found you.” He said. Blue flames appeared behind him. I could vaguely recognize a human figure in the fire.

Why on Earth, Heaven or Hell was I in a Rhyme match with the… leader of Platinum Jail? Ruler of the island? Villain of every Old Resident District’s citizen?

The flaming figure behind him sent black thunderbolts across the air and I yelled: “Ren, defense!” He sustained a moderate damage and fell on his knees, but still looked all right. Toue giggled. Dammit! This was a proper Rhyme battle, not a conversation. That man had no manners.  “Shit.” Ren counterattacked, but the flaming blue lady didn’t even get scratched. Literally. Black bolts of lightning hit Ren and his defense was almost broken. What the fuck was going on? It was too fast to be understandable.

“No matter what you do.” Toue joint his hands and looked at me. “It won’t be enough. Right now you can’t even stop me, it’s impossible.” I clenched my fists. “If you want to stop me… be my guest and destroy yourself by your own actions.” What? “I eagerly anticipate the outcome,” he concluded before a brief laughter.

“Toue!” I yelled. And just as I was pulled into the match, I was pulled out.

“You’re finally awake.” I blinked and I realized that I was resting on Granny’s lap. What? I sat on the ground and looked around.

“It’s been chaos since you’ve come here,” she said.

Noiz was looking at me with his back against the fence and one of his cubes in his hand.

“Aoba, are you OK?” Koujaku appeared behind her shoulders.

I nodded. “My head hurts just a bit.” I looked around to search for Mink and I found him next to the car. I was feeling so tired I had problems standing. My knees were shaking and I had so many questions, yet I preferred to stay silent. I walked toward him. “My medicine,” I said. “Can I have it back?”

He looked down at me. “You had passed out,” he said. He took my medicine box out of his breast pocket and opened it. He wiped his right hand on his coat, leaving a trace of blood, and took a pill out of it. “And you mentioned Toue a couple of time.” I did? It’s not like I could know it, duh. I took my pill from his fingers and swallowed it. “What had happened?”

“I am too tired to be coherent,” I warned him. “I… don’t know. I have entered Mizuki’s dream and then Toue has pulled me in a Rhyme match.”

Mink’s eyes widen. “Toue,” he growled. He put back my medicine box in his pocket. “I knew you were the right one.”

Whatever. I was really too tired to care. I turned to Granny and I asked her: “Where is Mizuki?”

She crossed her arms. “At the hospital. Everybody’s gone but your friends, here.” How the hell did they manage to go there from here, in a forbidden area? I saw Noiz smirking and I got a clue.

Everybody was already gone but my _friends_. I looked around and I saw Koujaku, Noiz and Mink. A freelance hairdresser and womanizer, an information gathering lunatic, and a creepy prisoner in pink. Yeah…


	5. Sometimes I feel like Ren and I are the only sane guys, here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SYMBOLISM! No, I'm joking. Just some necessary explanations. Plus Noiz's nipple piercings—gotta love them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally unlocked the secret route and completed the game. Man, it took me a while. And I had to change half of my outline for the coming chapters. Shit will get interesting ~~hopefully.~~  
>  Reminder: this fanfiction is very much based on the English translation of the game, by [these wonderful guys](http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/f16/t171722-dramatical-murder-complete-english.html). Also, I love the fact that [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) beta'd this chapter as well!

A girl with blue rabbit ears and a lab coat drove us home in a car repainted by Ruff Rabbit to look like a cab. Granny sat on my lap, next to the driver, while Koujaku, Noiz and Mink squeezed into the back seat.

“Boss,” said the girl, referring to Noiz. “The police are coming in this direction.” Noiz had erased our visit from the network, but Toue had still been able to find me—I didn’t know how. I assumed it was him who had called the police there. “I’m taking an alternative route,” announced the girl, turning left all of a sudden. The screeching tires made me shiver.

It was dark already, and the seat was pretty comfortable, despite Granny on my knees. I felt like sleeping; it was hard to keep my eyes open. “Are you all coming to my place?” I asked. Noiz had given our driver my address. I didn’t really like the idea of having a post-carnage sleepover, but I wasn’t in the mood for arguing.

“The police here are dumb, but not that much,” Noiz said. He stared at me through the driving mirror. “They are working under Toue’s instruction. Your home is not a safe place anymore, but neither is any other place related to us. Also, we can offer you protection.”

“You can go home, brat,” muttered Koujaku. He yawned hugely.

“If we all gather in one place, they can just drop a bomb on my house and kill us all,” I replied. I suspected Toue wanted me alive, but still.

Noiz smirked and adjusted his tie. “You think I haven’t thought of that?”

I turned my head to the back seat. “You have?”

“Already when you were in Rhyme with that old man.” Noiz looked pretty proud of himself. I was impressed—he was something.

“We have undermined the engines of the three helicopters.” Our driver turned left and avoided an old man in the middle of the street. “And played a bit with their weapons.”

“They will be forced to plan a frontal attack,” Mink intervened.

 

When we arrived home, Koujaku and I carried Granny to her room. I took some futons out of her closet and brought them into the living room, where the others were gathered. “Well.” I dropped the bedding on the sofa. “Thank you again and good night.” Koujaku took one and yawned again, walking away from Mink.

“Hey.” Noiz gave a look at the futons and frowned. “I want a proper bed.”

“You can sleep on the couch,” I suggested.

“That’s not the same,” he pointed out.

“Whatever.” I was too tired to fight. “You can use my bed.” It was the only free one. I took a futon and saw Noiz victoriously walking toward the stairs. There was no point in caring too much about him in my room, since he already saw everything in my desktop. The only thing that worried me was, well, that he could do weird things in my bed. I had not forgotten that very awkward kiss.

I looked at Mink. He was sitting in the kitchen, ignoring Koujaku and me, so I just took a pillow from the couch and went to bed.

 

I dreamed of flowing water. It gently cleansed my body, and it was fresh. I wanted to sit and play with it, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t open my eyes, nor move my fingers. Panic made my heart race. I desperately focused on my throat, but the muscles were refusing to obey my will. I wanted to scream and ask for help, but my lips were closed, as if I was made of stone. I focused, ignoring my tightened chest, and managed to part them, but still no sound, no sound—I couldn’t  ask for help. A horrible, cold feeling made me shiver. Why was I there?

Then I realized that the water was mud, sticky and bubbling. I was sinking in it, slowly. Not in my ears! Not in my nose, or mouth, or eyes! I had to escape, I didn’t want to die, I couldn’t die…

 

I opened my eyes. My clothes were soaked in cold sweat and I was breathing fast. A nightmare. I remembered that Koujaku and Mink were still sleeping there, so I looked around. Koujaku’s legs and arms peeked out of his blanket. Beni was sleeping on his chest, with his tiny _geta_ on the floor. I didn’t see Mink, dammit. He still had my medicine and my head was aching.

I took Ren out of my bag near the pillow and petted him on the head. He started up. “Aoba.”

“Good morning, Ren,” I muttered, playing with his fluffy ears.

“Good morning. How are you?” he asked.

“I have a headache.” Stupid Mink. He rhymed with pink… I giggled. My humor was committing seppuku.

“I see. I suggest a shower and a balanced breakfast. They could help.”

I looked at the time: it was barely seven. Ren was right, it was shower time! At least I could avoid the awkwardness of at least four morning woods at the same time.

 

Under the hot water I had plenty of time to think. My blue hair was plastered to my face, when I remembered something Noiz had said to me. He had called me Sly Blue, a Rhyme nickname. How could I have one if I had never played the game? Also, I knew how to order Ren to attack and enter his defense mode. And why had Toue contacted me through Rhyme?

I tried to remember, but it was all blurry. When did I play Rhyme? I just used to be a brat and enter fight after fight for no apparent reason. I was angry, yes… then the hormones rush lowered. But something wasn’t quite right. I had played Rhyme before.

 

I helped Granny with breakfast and the smell of donuts woke Koujaku, who ran into the shower to be the first at the table. Mink appeared shortly after and sat in the living room, ignoring both of us. I had left Ren with Beni, but someone was missing.

Where was Noiz? Once everything was ready, I decided to go upstairs and check how was he doing. I had not forgotten about the police and the fact that we were in danger. When in front of my door, I heard him speaking. “ _Kein Problem_.” What language was that? It didn’t sound like Japanese at all. “ _Ja, ich verstand es. Machs gut.”_ And he didn’t have any accent when he spoke Japanese. Weird. “You can come in,” I heard, and I opened the door.

He was sitting on the floor with his back against my bed. His Coil was the only source of light, and his piercings reflected the glow of the screen.

“Don’t they hurt?” I asked impulsively. He had piercings on his thin lower lip, on his eyebrows, on his hand…  I shivered. His nipples were pierced, too. Kinky.

“What are you talking about?”

I realized that since I saw his nipples, he wore no shirt. “Forget it.” Was he naked in my room? And with no light on? Brat. “We’re having a briefing in 5 minutes, downstairs,” I informed him.

I went downstairs and sat at the table.

“How are you doing?” asked Koujaku.

“Okay, I guess. I’m not feeling great, but, you know.” The day before had been pretty intense.

He stretched his hand and casually picked at a donut. “I guess nobody is.” He didn’t look too tired, but he had dark circles under his eyes.

“So… does anyone know how is Mizuki doing?” I asked.

“Still asleep.” I heard Noiz behind my back and he sat at the table, too, looking at the food. “But he’s fine, like the others of his team.”

I gave him a puzzled look. Oh, yeah, he was the one who had arranged their transportation to the hospital, so he was probably keeping in touch with the docs. I hadn’t really realized how precious his presence had been.

I sighed in relief. “Granny.” I turned to her. “Was Mizuki really the person that took you?”

Her gaze fell on the teacup in her hands. “Yes.” Mink joined us at the table, finally interested in the conversation. Before deciding what to do, we had to understand what had happened. “He called me from the back. He told me that he wanted something from you, and he wanted me to come as well.” So it wasn’t too bad, they hadn’t broken into the house… “I thought it was odd, but then they gagged me and I lost consciousness in their car.”

I didn’t want to picture that, but I couldn’t do otherwise. It just made me angrier, and that wasn’t good. I knew it wasn’t truly Mizuki’s fault. I was getting so annoyed at the world in those days… I took a deep breath to calm down. “But why you?”

“Aoba. And the rest of you.” Granny looked at us and smiled. “First of all, I want to thank you.” She looked back at her teacup. “I’ve made a terrible mistake not telling you the truth for so long, Aoba, but you have to know.”

The truth about what? About my memory loss?

“I think you realized that Mizuki was being manipulated.”

I nodded. “By Morphine.”

“Exactly. Aoba,” she said. “Can you tell us exactly what happened after you touched Mizuki, back in the parking?”

I told them everything I could recall about the dream inside Mizuki’s head and about the Rhyme match I had with Toue. I kept my eyes as low as my voice. It was scary. I couldn’t make sense of most of it—why me? Why me?

“Very well.” She clapped and looked me in the eyes. “Morphine, as you might already know, is just a tool used by Toue.” I wasn’t too surprised. I think that I already knew it. “I used to be a researcher at his lab.”

I blinked. “Toue’s?”

“More than twenty years ago,” she rushed. It felt like an excuse. “I was one of the first. The lab I worked at specialized in neural research. Basically, the brain’s plasticity.” She filled her cup before talking again. I was… shocked. She never told me, but I guess that that explained our relative wealth and security.  “We tested how some drugs affected damaged brains.” That explained why she was so authoritative in prescribing medicines, but her phrasing hit me hard. She used drugs. On people with damaged brains.  She tested them on people… were they consenting? Were they aware of the fact that they were used as guinea pigs? Knowing Toue, no. And she worked for him. She helped him to reach his Evil Overlord status. She _used_ to do it, at least. Did she quit voluntarily?

But she kept on talking: “I hoped to find a way to save people with damaged brains, it’s an amazing thing to study.” So she wanted to save them. Was that Toue’s aim as well? I doubted it. I clasped my hands and suspended my judgment. “Of course, the real objective of the research was to find a way to manipulate the brains, to control them. Toue had lied to us.” I was a bit relieved. “The research became increasingly obscure, in the reports as well. Once I was checking the progress of a colleague and I saw that they had managed to successfully switch two people’s consciousness. I felt like I was dead. They were doing horrible things with my help.” She took a sip of her tea. “So I quit and I came back to my hometown. But a little while ago I got a message… from Toue.”

That was a lot to take in, and we didn’t have so much time. I had to accept everything, although questions and questions were popping up in my mind.

“Did he want you to work for him again?” asked Mink.

Granny nodded. “Yes. He wrote me that there was an emergency in the research lab and he needed me to return. I kept on refusing, so they took serious action. I have reasons to believe Morphine has something to do with that emergency.”

“A lot of grandpas in Rib have disappeared because of it,” said Noiz. “And became their patients, I assume.”

Granny nodded. “I believe so, yes. They are coaxed into Morphine and released in the city so that their progress can be monitorized.”

“So those who can’t handle the drugs…” Noiz looked up. “Their minds break down and they become invalid.”

I knew that gathering information was Noiz’s specialty, but he knew a bit too much. Or he was just smart. Koujaku gave him a weird look. “So what happens to the successful ones? I haven’t really seen any Morphine around,” he said.

“They are subject to more experiment, until they’ve lost their freedom.”

“What’s going to happen to the island?” I asked. First Platinum Jail, than Morphine. “Does he want to control everything?”

“Most likely. The island will become his kingdom and lab. And if the research will develop even further, who knows. He might be able to _subdue_ countries.” Granny spoke slowly, with fear in her voice.

“Then we have to stop him!”

“…Aoba,” she called. “There is another thing I have to tell you, the truth I promised you.”

I nodded.

“You know you went inside Mizuki’s head.”

“I know.” I already accepted it, even if it was scary and weird. I had seen the true Mizuki, and I had spoken with him.

“You have the power to mix your consciousness with the one of someone else.” I knew it, but that hit me nevertheless. Why me? “We call that power Scrap. In your case, you can induce it with your voice.” Something else that I already know. The thing I did to Noiz… and the clients at the shop. The pieces were falling together; I had them already in my mind, like a puzzle, but they were blurry. Granny was confirming all my fears. I gave a look at the others. Noiz and Mink looked the same as always—I guess they already knew—but for Koujaku it was a shock. His eyes were wide.

“If you want to, you can use your voice to access the consciousness of the others. Guide them… force them. And if you touch the other person, they will be completely defenseless.”

I saw the corner of Mink’s lips rising. He liked it. Well, I didn’t. What was I, a monster? I could _force_ the others into doing stuff? I didn’t want to.

“From what you have told me, you… broke Mizuki’s mind.” I shivered. I did. “But you managed to save him. Your words saved him, and now he’s resting in the hospital. He’ll wake up in a bit, he’s never been lazy as you.” Granny smiled. “Scrap is a great power that can be used for good. You use it roughly, but you have managed to use it to help your friend.”

“With great power comes great responsibility…” muttered Noiz.

“Fuck off,” grumbled Koujaku, crossing his arms.

The two exchanged glances and then looked away. _There is a time and place for everything, but not now_ , echoed in my mind. I was so desperate I was cheering up myself with that kind of quotes.

“But you can also destroy people with your power, Aoba,” said Granny. “I’ve always been able to protect you, but now it’s not enough anymore. You used Scrap to protect me, and Toue saw it. That’s how he found you.” She paused. “Your power is the fruit of one of the first experiments they made. When I left, I managed to destroy a big part of Toue’s archives without being caught, but it’s not enough anymore, either.”

“I understand.” I took her hand in mine. “Now it’s my turn.” I had to accept her words; I couldn’t fight them, because my experience was only supporting what she had said, same for that hectic week. It had begun, and I had no intention to let Toue do whatever he wanted.

“You told me that Toue said to you something vague about an invite, right?” Granny asked.

“Platinum Jail will host an event open to the Old Resident District. Today the official invitations will be send.” That was Noiz. “They will test something on the District residents, as far as I’ve understood.”

Granny nodded. “They aim at observing the results on the largest body possible. Speeches, lights, songs… they will test all of them.”

“We need to stop him. We need to go to Platinum Jail!”

A high-pitched squirm came from Noiz and he took one of his cubes in his hand. “You’re lucky,” he said. “I just received my invitation.”

“What?” exclaimed Koujaku.

“I bought it,” replied Noiz. _What?!_ Just how bloody rich was he? “Aoba, you’ll soon receive one as well.”

“You bought one for him as well?” Koujaku’s eyes were wide in disbelief.

“No. But he’s on the confirmed list. Also, he said that Toue _invited_ him. Use your brain once in a while,” was the caustic reply.

Koujaku growled. “I want to come as well!”

“I have the possibility to bring one guest,” Noiz informed us. “Aoba probably won’t.”

“I’m coming with you,” interjected Mink. “I have business with Toue I have to deal with.”

“Enough.” Granny stood up and walked to the living room. “Aoba, I have something else to say.”

I quickly rose to follow her, leaving the fight that was going to burst.

We sat on the couch and she massaged her forehead. “That sure is a lot to take in.”

“I… I already could guess most of it.” Still, my mind was in a frenzy.

“Good boy, you’re smarter than you look.” Hey! “You told me something about Rhyme. That you remembered you took part in it.” I wasn’t sure. I had told them many things. “Ten years ago you had to go to the hospital because of Rhyme.”

“What?”

“The police and the doctor told me you were caught up in a bad fight and lost the match. You were severely injured, and your memory suffered as well.” So that’s why I couldn’t remember. It made sense, but it also sounded so vague… how much had I forgotten? Years? Months? Maybe Granny didn’t k now. “Then, when I visited you, something odd happened,” continued Granny. “There was a nurse collapsed on the floor, and you… you were different.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“She had lost memory of that, and you as well.” She ignored my question. “And you’ve had headaches since then. You had used Scrap on her, and exposed a different side of your personality.” I blinked. That phrasing was odd. Did she mean that I had… more than one personality? That I was different because I wasn’t me? But how could I not be myself? “I prescribed you the medicine since then.”

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the couch. A maze, I was lost in a maze of words and choices I couldn’t affect. This whole thing was so big for me—Toue. He wanted me because I was something different. I was his experiment.

“This is enough for now, Aoba. I will let you rest.” Her warm hand caressed my cheek.

“I’ll come back, Granny,” I promised her. I knew that what she had said to me wasn’t everything, because if I was Toue’s experiment… who were my real parents? They couldn’t possibly have sold me to him, right? Where did I come from? Was I born because Toue wanted so? All my question were about myself.

She left and I took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to check what the others were doing? Koujaku had a sword, after all. And Mink, well. I gave a look at my Coil: still no messages.

I heard footsteps behind my back and turned; it was Noiz. He stood behind the couch with his hands hidden in his pockets. “Did you use your power on me, too?” he asked.

I blinked. Well, I had called him when he had his cube overhearing the conversation. And when he had come back, his face was blanker than usual, but I had not peeked into his soul as I had done with Mizuki, so I wasn’t sure.

“You can peep into people’s hearts and crush them to bits. Have you ever tried doing it in Rhyme?” he asked.

“No, I won’t join your team. I think we have more important stuff to do, before, right?” I stood and straightened my clothes, without looking at him. “But I promised you I will fight you again, and who knows, I might join your team.”

I walked into the kitchen, leaving him with my promise. Koujaku had his arms crossed and he had a black eye. Mink, on the other side of the table, had no scratch—the pun of the year. Why was my humor becoming so bad?

“So…” I turned to Noiz, who picked up a donut, “I guess that Mink will come with you?”

Noiz nodded and cleaned his fingers on a handkerchief.

“Good—“ My Coil interrupted me. It was a call… weird. I picked up. “Hello?”

“Aoba-san?”

I checked the caller. “Virus? What’s up?”

“It’s a disaster. Keep calm and listen to me. The police—” he said.

“We have four minutes.” Noiz rose and looked around. “Tch…”

“Please run away and hide somewhere. The police came here, too, so things are a bit noisy. If I hear anything I’ll contact you again.”

“You.” Noiz turned to Koujaku. “Take the old hag and use the back door. You have three minutes.”

“Please, be careful.” And with this, Virus’ call ended.

“Dammit!”

Koujaku had already gone. “No time for clothes or goods.” Noiz tightened his grip on his rabbit cube and walked briskly to the back door as well. “We have almost two minutes.” And he started to run.

*

“Are we safe, now?” I asked, panting. I was still so damn tired… Mink and Noiz were still fresh and vigilant. We were hidden in the back of a cheap bar, and the rotten smell was nauseating.

I looked at my Coil: I got two messages. One was from Koujaku: he and Granny were safe at his place. So the police had found the house empty. The second message was from Captive Princess.

“It’s a game application,” Ren informed me from my bag. That game!

“Noiz, take a look at it,” I said, showing my Coil to him. “This game. Every time something weird has happened, I got a message with this game that predicted it.”

“That game… I know it. Open it. I’ll analyze it when we’ll be more safe. Moreover, I think I know where it comes from.”

My knight avatar walked away from a tiny village and entered a tunnel. There was a small maze with some chests, and after he found a key in a deeper level of the maze, he managed to walk into a dark hallway.

“I’ve never seen this scene before.” Noiz frowned. “The game has been altered. What a neatly crafted trap.”

There was a huge door in front of the knight avatar, but he used the key and entered a small room with a light orb. When he touched it, the Toue Inc. logo appeared on my screen and Noiz smiled. “Gotcha.”

It was the invitation for the Platinum Jail special event.

 “So it’s the three of us,” I said. I gave a look at my companions. Noiz was definitely useful, but Mink… I couldn’t really understand him. His presence still felt threatening. “I guess that I’ll call Haga-san and then… we will be there.”

Mink was the only one who looked pleased about it.


	6. Sometimes I forget we're just a bunch of dorks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba doesn't like Mink's plan, nor Noiz's chivalry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOYAH, new chapter! Also, OMG, I didn't realize I wrote so much and there's still half to go °-°  
> As always: it's based on the English translation of the game. And thanks to [Aya](http://ayaaaaaa.livejournal.com/) who beta'd it!

The hallway to reach Platinum Jail was incredibly long. Our steps echoed in the darkness, filling the dusty air.

I had plenty of time to think about what Granny had said to me. I wanted to stop Toue. Did I have to _kill_ him?

I had placed the stun gun Haga-san had given to me in my bag, and I felt its weight. _No turning back_. Still, I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want to do the same things he had done. I was different.

I saw a dim light ahead of us. The end of the hallway! We walked briskly up to the stairs. There was a huge white door in front of us.

“My, that’s interesting.” Noiz rose his arm and the Coil in his hand lit up.

The door opened and a cold light hurt my eyes. We stepped into a high-ceiled room, white as snow. A screen lowered above five doors on the opposite wall. From the window I could see the night sky, but I was sure it was about noon.  

“Whoa!”

A showy fanfare welcomed us and made me jump.

“Welcome in Japan’s greatest, highest-class facility of love, dreams, and comfort!” A man dressed up as a panda shot a firecracker and the confetti fell at our feet. “Platinum Jail!”

I exchanged glances with Noiz and Mink. Toue had even hired someone to welcome us…

Also, where were we? At the back door, maybe?

“This is a paradise on Earth where only the chosen can enter!” continued the panda in a high-pitched voice. He pressed a button on the wall. “Well, then, what will your destination be?”

The big screen lowered even more. The slideshow featured the pictures of several colorful locations.

“Shut the fuck up,” muttered Noiz.

The panda ignored the insult and I felt a bit sorry for him. “Fun-fun roulette, start!”

The pictures changed so fast it was impossible to recognize them anymore, then the roulette stopped on a purple building with green neon lights.

“Ooh!” The panda clapped his stuffed hands, making no sound. “Your destination is Green Playground! Come, come, this way, please!” He pointed at the second door from the left with his arm.

Mink was the first to walk toward the door and we followed him.

“Here you’ll find the newest game centers and technological heavens! You’ll be in a world far from boredom for the rest of your life!” sang the panda from behind our backs. “Please, hold up your invitation ticket to the authentication monitor next to the door~!”

Noiz held his thin wrist-Coil to the authentication screen.

 “Platinum ID confirmed. Noiz-sama and guest, welcome to Platinum Jail,” said a robotic voice. “The admission formalities will now begin. Guest has been granted a Guest ID. Guest, please show your Coil to the monitor.”

Mink took a necklace out of his pocket and he brought it near the screen.

“Confirmed, Guest ID now being transmitted. All jurisdiction belongs to the Platinum ID holder.”

He was an ex-prisoner, but apparently that wasn’t a problem. I opened my invitation on my Coil and waited for the instruction to stop.

“The Guest ID has restricted use only, please practice caution. Please read the full details on the invitation card, and enjoy.”

I showed my invitation on the screen as well and I was greeted by a robotic: “Aoba-sama, welcome to Platinum Jail.”

The door opened on another hallway. The lights were similar to those of our location, purple and green. It looked like a box, without windows or real light.

“Let’s go.” I was the first to enter. The glossy walls reflected my image, distorted by the colorful lights. It looked like a nightmare. I turned to check how the others were doing. Noiz had his hands in his pockets and didn’t look the same, while Mink had a weird grimace. Was he uncomfortable? Or maybe just a bit worried. We were diving right into Toue’s trap.

We arrived in front of a door and it opened, revealing Green Playground. The black buildings were the tallest I’d ever seen, and they were covered by screens and flashing lights. It looked like the Old Resident District, but newer and better maintained. The place we were in had a vague Rhyme quality. The people were all about my age, dressed up in colors and tight fabric, and Mink was definitely the oldest, here.

The dome projected the illusion of a starry sky. It was wonderful. I couldn’t see any star from the balcony of my room. Platinum Jail’s light pollution spoiled the night.

Oval Tower, the symbol of Platinum Jail, loomed in front of us. I had never seen it before, but I’d heard rumors about it.

“It’s kinda impressive,” I remarked.

Noiz raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Well, it’s huge,” I pointed out. He looked bored, as per usual. I remembered he bought his invitation himself; maybe he expected something even more posh.

Mink crossed his arms. “Don’t we have better things to discuss?”

“There should be a map attached to the invitation.” Noiz looked at his Coil.

I showed him the map attached to my invitation. There was a red mark near the dome. His map was marked in a different place.

“I have an idea,” Noiz said. “The arrows mark where we can stay at. We’ll head first to your place.” He put his Coil in his pocket and looked around.

“Ren,” I called. He popped his fluffy head out of my bag. “Could you navigate there?”

“Roger.”

 

We arrived at a residential area. Two rows of buildings guarded the main lane. The area was simple and neat, unlike the rest of Green Playground. We were closer to the smaller buildings, but they increased in height and dimensions, as if ranked.

Glitter, the building that was supposed to be my lodging, was an old Western house painted in white.

“Now, place your Coil next to the screen,” ordered Noiz. I rolled my eyes and did as he said. The old fashioned door knob opened, but he pulled the door, closing it.

“So we’re all staying at your place?” I asked.

Noiz nodded. “This is just a precaution.”

Mink was still on the sidewalk. We joined him and Noiz took his Allmate out of his pocket. “Usagimodoki, guide us.”

“Roo~ger!” hummed its high-pitched voice.

Five minutes after, we were in front of a humongous Western building with five stores. Night flowers bloomed on the balconies, and two tiny marble angels supported the plate. The name of the house was Diamond, regal as the elegant font on the plate.

“Wow,” was all I could say. It was the best place I’d ever seen in my life. And I wondered about the interior.

Noiz placed his Coil in front of the authentication monitor and the door opened. He was the first to enter; Mink and I followed.

I blinked. The place was awesome. The floor was like a chessboard, black and white. The inside was all white—was it marble? It was so smooth! The staircase curled up under a giant, hanging chandelier. And that was just the entry.

Noiz turned to face Mink. “Now you know where we are. Don’t you have to go somewhere?”

Mink gave him a cold glare and turned. “So you’re in contact with Shintani, mmh.” I had already heard that name somewhere. He passed me and went out, slamming the door behind him.

“Where did he go?”

“We’ll know when he comes back.” Noiz looked around. The corners of his lips had risen. “I don’t really like it.”

“But you’re smiling,” I pointed out. Well, he wasn’t really smiling, but still.

He glared at me. “It’s pretentious,” he explained.

Whatever.

He opened the white door at our right and went inside a room. I followed him into a huge living room. The style was the same as the entrance.  Five large couches circled a glass table and a TV screen took almost an entire wall.

Noiz looked unimpressed and just sprawled onto a couch.

“Can I look around?” I asked. I felt childish, but this place was great and I wanted to explore it. Also, I couldn’t do more than that, at the moment, since Noiz was the one in charge of the information and Mink had gone off somewhere.

“Gimme your Coil first.”

I cocked my head. “Why?”

“I want to investigate the origin of your invitation.” He took out his Coil and a digital keyboard appeared on the sofa. “It comes from Toue, but I want to see if I can track a specific ID.”

I took my Coil off my wrist and held it in my hand. I was a bit worried to hand it in. Yes, Noiz had already seen all my data from my desktop, but those where only backups. With my Coil he could actually mess with them.

“What?” He sounded annoyed—more so than usual. I threw my Coil to him and he caught it. He connected it to his own and started typing on the digital keyboard. “I’ll be done in five minutes,” he said.

I glanced at him and got back in the entrance. I could explore Diamond in five minutes.

 

When I opened the door of the living room again, I was a changed man. I had seen a swimming pool, a gym and a garden… all inside one house. Plus all the bedrooms and those gigantic beds.

“Noiz?” I called.

His eyes were so narrow I wondered how could he see. He was staring at a digital screen, grimacing.

“What happened?” I sat next to him and he shot me a glare. He was still generating strings of code, but an error message interrupted them all.

“Not even the country’s network is this complicated. No matter what I do, I get an error,” he explained, closing the window on the screen.

“So the sender is hidden.”

He gave me back my Coil. “Doesn’t really change much,” he said, but he kept on staring at the screen. Uh, someone was annoyed.

I put my bag near the table and took a candy from the plate on it. “It’s not poisoned or something, right?” I asked Noiz, showing it to him.

“Try it yourself,” he replied. After a pause, he added: “While I was searching for the sender, I noticed an error in your Allmate. Give it to me.”

I swallowed the candy whole. “What? Ren, an error?” I took him out of my bag and petted his head.

Ren opened his eyes. “Aoba.”

“Ren, are you alright? Does it feel funny somewhere?” Why didn’t he tell me? Or maybe it was one of those new kind of virus that were spreading. I had always been careful…

He wagged his tail. “No problems on my side.”

Noiz narrowed his eyes. “Give it to me. If you want to beat Toue, you have to be in your best condition.”

“Ren.” I held him in front of my face. “Noiz here says that you have something wrong. Can you check?”

He shook his little pink tongue. “Negative, I haven’t found anything.”

I glanced at Noiz.

“Cut it off,” he said. “And give me your Allmate.” I trusted Ren, but I also trusted Noiz, kind of. He had already saved our ass several times and his knowledge was far superior than mine. But Ren just said to me that he had nothing…

I pressed my forehead against Ren’s. His soft fur tickled me. “We’ll check anyway, okay?” He switched off and I gave the fluffy bundle to Noiz.

“I don’t get why do you care so much,” he said. “It’s just an Allmate.”

I crossed my arms. “Maybe for you it is, but Ren is my friend.” I had him for so many years, and I didn’t care about the new models. Ren couldn’t be replaced. I felt a bit sorry, since I hadn’t properly talked to him about everything that had happened. I could do it that night.

“Whatever.” Noiz laid Ren on the sofa and touched his belly. When he found the plug for his Coil, he lifted his head. “I have some tools with me, but they’re not enough. “There should be a complete kit in the arcade centre upstairs.”

I nodded and walked towards the door. I stopped to ask: “And how do you know?” I got no reply, so I took the stairs.

 The arcade centre was on the third floor, between the indoor garden and a kitchen. When I opened the door, all the colored lights turned on and an aggressive beat filled the air. Where could the kit be? I looked around. There was a white square on the black wall in front of me. It was a glass container with a yellow tool box, opened on some screwdrivers. Cool, it was easier than expected. I took it and hurried downstairs.

I entered the ground living room. “Noiz, I have it.”

“You’re slow.” He was typing on his digital keyboard with his left hand. Ren was curled on his lap. “I already fixed it.”

I put the tool box on the glass table and sat next to him. “How are you, Ren?” I asked, taking him into my arms.

“I’m all right,” he replied. “He removed a worm. It wasn’t active, but it could have affected me in the future.”

I sighed in relief. Ren was an old model, maybe that was the reason he couldn’t sense the worm. I smiled at Noiz, but he was focusing on the screen. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m helping Mink’s men get in here. Whoever’s responsible for the intelligence of his team is a shithead,” he muttered.

I placed Ren at my feet and peeked at the screen: it was a chat, and he was replying with insults to a lot of questions. “So Mink wants them to help us?”

“They will make some noise and attract most of the security,” he explained. “If they manage to hide inside, I can’t to everything.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait for Mink to hear the full plan, huh?” I took two candies from the plate. What Noiz had said to me was pretty vague. I offered him one candy. “Here.”

He took it without looking at me, and I noticed that the bandages on his right hand were bright red.

“Hey! Is that blood?”

He looked at his hand, disinterested. “I got nicked by the tool. It wasn’t fit for the job.”

“You need to take them off,” I said. He had them always on, it wasn’t hygienic. “And disinfect it.”

“Not now.” Noiz ate the candy and typed something else on the keyboard, narrowing his eyes.

“Were you the one who said that we need to be as efficient as possible?” I asked him, raising my eyebrow.

“My hand is fine.”

“Man, it’s almost dripping. Looks like you got stabbed or something.” I grabbed his fingers to take the droplet of blood. Not on that fine white couch, man.

He stopped typing. “Don’t touch me,” he growled, slapping my hand away. “I’ll do it by myself when I’m not busy.”

“Brat.” I stood up and took my bag with me. Did he want to play tough? Fine with me, I wasn’t his mom or something.

I had seen some bedrooms upstairs, I could at least store there my things and take a shower. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

 

I came back into the living room some minutes after. The shower could wait; I had found a small first aid kit and I wasn’t afraid to use it. I sat next to Noiz, who ignored me, and took his hand in mine.

“Don’t touch me,” he repeated, but he let me undo his bandages. He was still giving instructions to Mink’s man. “You’re annoying.”

“I’m _efficient_ ,” I replied with a mocking smile. I looked at his hand and cleansed the blood with a disinfectant napkin. Noiz didn’t even blink—but it was painful as hell! Never mind. He had two piercings on his hand, too. Next to them, two deep stings and a superficial cut. I covered them with some patches and took some new bandages out of the aid kit.

“I don’t really know how to do it,” I confessed. Granny was the one who fixed me up every time.

“I’ll do it later.” He looked at his hand. It wasn’t spilling blood anymore, so he started using it instead of his left one. His piercings, between his thumb and his index finger, moved every time he tapped on the keyboard. It was weirdly fascinating.

I heard the door slam and turned. Mink came into the living room with his cockatoo perched on his shoulder.

“Yo,” I greeted him. “So, you have a plan?”

He took his pipe out of his coat and lit it. “We’re still working on the details.”

“Because you’re all shitheads,” muttered Noiz. His voice was so low Mink didn’t notice his remark, apparently. Thank goodness…

Mink sat on the other couch and breathed out a puff of smoke. “My men are gathering in a warehouse on the opposite side of Platinum Jail. Hey, maniac, have you deactivated the security of this house?”

Noiz snorted. “I’m not a maniac, and yes, I’ve already done it.”

“The day after tomorrow there will be a parade across Platinum Jail. It will start from Oval Tower and end there again. Most of the security will be gathered there, but not if we attack the parade.”

“Do you plan to involve more people?” I was speechless. “Innocent people?”

“None of your business.” Mink gave me a cold glare.

“But—“

“Cut it off already,” muttered Noiz.

“This will allow me, the lunatic and you to get into the Tower from the same place we got into.” Right, that place with five door. I thought it was a pivotal place, since you could access every area, but was it part of Oval Tower? Apparently. Dammit, we were there already!

“We will have weapons,” continued Mink, laying his hand on the white leather of the couch.

Noiz took a candy from the plate. “I’ll find a way to deactivate the security system.”

“And what will _I_ do?” I didn’t want to use weapons. I didn’t want to hurt anyone but Toue, and I didn’t want to kill him. Those two were talking about attacking the parade…

Mink stared at me and pointed his pipe at me. “You’ll keep your mouth shut and follow us.”

Noiz took the bandages from my hands and looked at them. “Use Scrap to be of any help.”

I bit my lip. That was unfair. I was the one who was supposed to get to Toue, and those two were organizing everything without telling me. Yes, they were better than me at organizing attack plans, but… I was the one invited. I was Toue’s main target, and he was mine, and now I was put aside by Mink. And Noiz as well.

“Is that all?” I clenched my fists. I didn’t approve of the plan and of what I was supposed to do. Random mayhem wasn’t the reason I had came there.

They didn’t say anything, so I rose and walked toward the door. “I took the right bedroom on the fourth floor,” I announced, leaving those two to their plotting.

 

The hot water of the shower massaged my back. I rested my forehead on the tile wall, lost in my thoughts. If only I could punch those two…

I felt useless. And almost betrayed by Noiz, who was there only to help me and now was tagging with Mink. I didn’t like his plan, but could I come up with a better one? I had no way to get information, nor men ready to be killed in order to provide me with a distraction.

“Dammit!” I punched the wall. _I_ needed distraction.

 

I turned in my bed for almost two hours, unable to sleep. My clothes were in the dryer, and although quiet, it still didn’t allow me to sleep. I had already told Ren everything had happened in detail;  he could mostly guess and he just suggested me to bite the bullet and don’t be impulsive.

Easier said than done.

I sat on my bed. The curtains were closed, but a faint light came through the window anyway. Right, I had a balcony. I reached it and opened the glass doors. Was it safe for me to just go outside? Anybody could see me. And I was in my pajamas.

When I walked outside a soft breeze caressed my cheeks. It was a bit chilly, but still pleasant, and there was nobody on the street. I guess this residential area wasn’t as popular as the main street.

The scent of the night flowers, that I had never seen before, was sweet and I touched their white, soft petals. I sighed. Despite the starry sky and the flowers, I was still mad.

I heard some sounds above my head. Someone else was going to check his balcony? Whatever.

“What are you doing?” Noiz’s voice came from above. I raised my head, but I couldn’t see him.

“I can’t sleep,” I replied. It sounded whinier than I wanted. “And you? What’s up?”

I heard some more noises and I saw his legs hanging down from his balcony. When his foot touched the marble railing, he lowered his body. He was sitting on the banister, with his hands still on his balcony, then he jumped in front of me.

 “I’m bored.” He flipped his wet hair out of his eyes. Thank goodness he wasn’t wearing his hat anymore. But no bunny pajamas for him—he still had on his shirt and trousers.

“So you thought to visit? _Nice_.” I put too much poison in my words, and I felt extremely childish. “Sorry.”

“For what?” He laid with his back against the fence.

“I was being sarcastic,” I pointed out. Okay, that conversation was awkward.

His piercings reflected the dim light of the stars. His face was really interesting to look at, and not only because of his piercings. I had heard him speaking another language, and his eyes weren’t typically Japanese. Was he half-foreign?

“I can leave,” he said.

“Naah, it’s okay,” I shrugged. It wasn’t really his fault, he was just helping me—by being best buddies with Mink. “I’m just not in a great mood.”

“You look the same as usual.”

I blinked. “I don’t get big and green when I’m angry, you know. I just cope with it.”

“And why are you angry?”

I glanced at him. Was he kidding or something? “You and Mink are elaborating this big evil plan and all I can do is put patches on your scratches. Guess why I feel useless,” I added, annoyed.

“Don’t.” Noiz frowned. “Your time will come.”

“What about what _I_ want to do?” I replied.  “If you seriously think that I’ll use Scrap to break the minds of everyone who will oppose to us, you have the wrong guy here.”

“Why not?” Noiz cocked his head. It was a really stupid question, but he looked interested.

“Maybe the people who work for Toue are the same as Granny, they don’t know the truth, you know? And I don’t want to hurt innocent people.” He was frowning, so I continued. “I wouldn’t like to be shot if I worked for a boss who kept secret after secret to me. Shot and tricked, double owned.”

“It may sound interesting, but in reality you’ll have to fight with people who don’t know shit about Toue’s real plans.” Noiz kept staring at me. Was he testing me or something?

“No, I won’t.” I crossed my arms.

The corners of his lips rose. “I could fight all your opponents, then.”

“That would be the same,” I objected. “I just want to change the plan, that’s why I’m talking to you.”

“You think I’ll change my mind?” he asked, amused.

“At least I’m trying.”

He closed his eyes. “You reason in a funny way.”

“I’m just using my common sense.” I was souding like the stupid one, dammit. He was treating me like an idiot, but I was right, I knew it.

“If I had Scrap, I would use it to get what I want,” he remarked.

“But you don’t have it. Also, I never said I wouldn’t use it. Just… not carelessly.” On Toue? OK. To break the minds of random people? How about no.

Noiz opened one eye. “You’re too good for all of this.”

I rolled my eyes. “I try.” I just had some ethics like every other decent human being.

He put his hands in his pockets. The bandages disappeared under his sleeves. “You’ll interfere with the plan?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed. I wasn’t going to blindly follow Mink, that was for sure. “I don’t even understand the full plan, what I’m really supposed to do in the first place.” He didn’t reply, so I continued. “Mink will probably kill me if I get in his way. I wonder why he’s so passionate about killing Toue.” Passionate was an overstatement, but still.

“I don’t care about Toue and the rest of that shit. I’m only helping you because I want my Rhyme re-match,” said Noiz.

“Is it all worth the effort?” That was a lot in exchange for a single match. I was also surprised by his fair-play – he was the one who pulled me in a Drive-By, after all.

“It’s less boring than my normal info breaking.”

That could be rephrased as _It_ ’s _not like I’m doing it for you or something_. He sounded like a manga character. That made me smirk. “You’re so socially awkward.”

He glared at me. “I am not socially awkward.”

I looked at him from tip to toe. He had a droplet running down his neck, and his narrowed eyes on me. “You still look threatening even if you’re relaxed.” _Smile, man._

“That’s not my problem.”

I felt like mocking him, since he was playing tough. “It will be your boyfriend’s, if you’ll ever get one.” Or girlfriend, I had no idea. I was sure he didn’t know how to relate to other people. Maybe he was into those virtual dating games or something.

“Whatever,” he replied.

He was being a bit social, to be fair, but teasing him was good for my mood. And I just had a brilliant idea to have some fun with his dorkiness.

 “If I do this—“ I grabbed his tie and gently pulled it “—what will you do?”

But he wasn’t moving. I used more strength, but he was still looking down at me, without a flicker. Dammit. I glared at him and put a hand behind his neck to push it. He had piercings there as well, four small metal balls.

“Stop touching me.” He sounded vaguely annoyed.

I snorted and let his neck free. Now I was the awkward one!

He looked at me in the eyes and took my free hand. I blinked. What was he doing? He pressed his lips against the back of my hand, with his eyes locked to mine.

What was that?!

“You’re a pervert!” I let him go, blushing.

“Why?” he asked. He was smiling, the brat!

“Tie pulling usually leads to kisses, you know? Mouth to mouth,” I specified. “And then French. Never watched TV?”

“Did you want to kiss me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “You could have asked.”

“No,” I admitted. Also, I could have asked? What the hell?

“Then why did you do it?”

I rolled my eyes. “I just wanted to tease you.” A plan that backfired, since I was the embarrassed one.

He smiled mischievously. “I’m better at doing that, too.”

“Shut up.” I pretended to be angry, but I was smiling as well. He had lifted my spirit a bit by making me feel like a dork. “I’m going back to my room.”

“Can I come?” he asked, completely serious.

I froze. One part of me raised an eyebrow to the stars. Why on Earth did he want to come in  my room? That was in the house he had bought or rented, but that was a small detail. It was still my room! Another part of me was picturing him stripping. Just how many piercings did he have? Maybe not only on his nipples.

He cracked a smile. “Just kidding.”

I glanced at him. His smile was kind of cute, but he was cruel, being such a tease. “Brat,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

“Good night,” I waved him off. “Sleep tight.”

He nodded and climbed the railing.I turned and heard a _thud!_ above my head. He had landed safely.

“And thank you,” I added.

“For what?” he asked.

 


	7. He’s just a teenage dirtbag, baby~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba gets to know Noiz better. Beware: headcanons. Headcanons everywhere! I'm not even kidding xD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the wonderful [boychik](http://archiveofourown.org/users/boychik/profile) who beta'd the chapter! (No, I didn't change beta, I just thought to credit with a more updated link LOL)

My Coil was on the side table, but I didn’t want to check the time.  I didn’t know how much time I had spent staring at the ceiling after I had woken up, but I had gotten hungry. I shook my head and sat on the bed.

Suddenly, I felt restless. And that was cruel, since I just had to wait. I didn’t have the knowledge to gather information, nor a team to instruct regarding the operation. I was the key  to reach Toue in Oval Tower –and at the same time, just a watcher. Instead of angry, it just made me feel like an useless incompetent.

I reached Ren, curled at my feet. I petted his forehead and he opened his eyes.

 “Good morning, Aoba,” he greeted, waggling his fluffy tail. “How are you?”

I yawned. “I just woke up. Tomorrow is the big day.” I looked outside the window. The stars were glittering in the sky, but it was all a lie.

“I’d suggest you not to worry too much.” Ren nuzzled my hand with his head. “You have the habit of overthinking.”

I sighed. “It’s not like I can do otherwise.”

“I understand.” Ren tilted his head. “But please, consider resting your mind as well, not only your body.”

“I’ll try.”

 

I straightened the sleeves of my shirt and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked rested, unlike the previous days, and that lifted my mood a bit. I had to stay positive about the plan. I took Ren in my arms and went outside.

I looked at my Coil: it was almost noon. How much had I slept? I was getting hungry. There was a kitchen directly underneath my room. Maybe there was something to eat there. I climbed down the stairs and entered the kitchen. It was a surreal place, white and clean, all edges and high-tech devices. It smelled like soap, not food. It was so different from what I was used to… I already missed Granny and Koujaku and the others, their warm presence around me. I opened one of the fridges, but it was empty.

“Weird.”

Ren turned his head to me. “I can’t sense any devices, here. They are not plugged in.”

I placed him on the floor and opened the cupboards, all empty. It looked like a ghost kitchen. “Don’t tell me that the candy in the living room is the only food present, here…”

I had the idea to go out and buy something from the main street, but that would have been dumb. Wandering off alone in Toue’s territory wasn’t the smartest idea. Maybe I could ask Noiz? But I felt in debt, and I didn’t like it. Maybe he could come with me? All those problems for a sandwich… but after all, no food, no energy to run and use Scrap on the bad guys.

With a sigh I went downstairs. There was a metallic sound coming from the door in front of the stairs. It was the gym, if I remembered correctly. I opened the door and peeked inside. The place was huge, with many work out machines on the wooden floor. The light was dim and came from the stars through the windows. At the opposite side of the room someone was lifting weights. He was only in his dark underwear. I couldn’t see his face, but he looked a little taller than me, so I deduced it was Noiz.

I narrowed my eyes to look better. Man, he had muscles. His movements were regular, and his back was beaded with sweat. The piercing at the nape of his neck reflected the light of the stars rhythmically, following his exercise. Not bad.

“Noiz?” I called him. My voice echoed in the empty hall.

He stopped and turned his head in my direction. “Yo.”

I suddenly felt really stupid. I was planning to say to him: “There’s no food in the kitchen,” but that sounded really childish. So instead I went for an “Aren’t you hungry? I was planning to go out and buy some food, wanna come?”

He nodded and left the weights on a bench next to him. “Gimme five minutes.” He took a towel from a drawer nearby and put it around his neck.

“What are you doing, here, by the way?” I asked.

“You’d never guess.” He collected his clothes and walked toward me. “Just some exercise.”

“Out of boredom?” I asked. Or maybe he was concerned with being fit.

“Kind of.” He stopped right in front of me. In his underwear—without bunnies, too bad. And nice abs. Also, a navel piercing. “Why you ask?”

 I shrugged. “I just wanted to do some conversation.”

I left him in the gym and went back to my room.

“Aoba?” asked Ren.

I put on my jacket and picked up my bag. “Yes?”

He looked up to me. “Your pulse has increased a bit since you encountered Noiz, before. Are you all right?”

“That’s embarrassing.” I lifted him and placed him in my bag. “Yes, everything’s okay.”

“I’m glad,” he said before he turned into sleep mode. And I was glad he had said that to me in private.

 

“I haven’t seen Mink around.”

Noiz and I were walking down the residential lane. Glitter was a bit far in front of us.

“He left early this morning,” replied Noiz.

I looked around. I felt like someone was watching us, and that was a very childish feeling. I expected Toue’s spies at every corner. Maybe it was because of the dark sky? I didn’t feel safe, mostly because the lane was desert.

“Turn right! Turn right!” squealed Noiz’s Allmate.

Unlike me, Noiz looked extremely confident, as usual. One hand was holding his rabbit cube, and the other was in his pocket. He wore again his hat, that was covering to me part of his face.

The conversation was lacking, and I was the only one putting forth any effort to keep it alive.

“Did all of his men manage to get into Platinum Jail safe?” I asked.

“Left! Left!” exclaimed his Allmate in its high-pitched voice.

“As far as I know,” answered Noiz coldly. “Do you care about them?”

I frowned. “I’d feel better if I know that nobody got hurt.”

He looked at me in silence for a while, before asking, “What if someone got hurt?”

“I’d feel sorry.” What a weird question.  “And I’d offer my help. I can’t do bandages, but I can do patches.”

He grimaced. “We’re talking about gunshots and stitches, not things you can fix with a first aid kit.”

I stopped. It was only him and me on the sidewalk. No wind, no birds humming, it felt all unreal.

I took a deep breath. I felt like a weight had just landed on my shoulders. Of course, who was I trying to kid. Toue’s men had weapons. And if I didn’t want to get killed, I had to have one as well. But I didn’t want to use it. Fighting was okay, but killing… I wasn’t ready to kill. Could anyone be ready to kill? The idea was alien to me.

“Aoba?” Ren peeked out from my bag.

I shook my head. It was all so unreal. I wasn’t hungry anymore. A cowardly, dark desire crept in me: _I wanted to run away_. Could I? Could I really betray Granny, Mizuki and all the people that lived in the Old Resident District? It wasn’t just my quest, or Mink’s, it was all of Midorijima’s.

What if I had no choice and I must kill in order to protect the people I cared about? Was it right to spread sorrow just like Toue did? I was different from him, but the idea had already touched me.

“Here.” Noiz placed a piece of candy under my nose. “Take it. Eat this and keep moving. I’m hungry.”

I took it and put it in my mouth. It was sweet, and tasted like lemon. Noiz turned and walked off.

“I’m all right.” I petted Ren’s head and followed Noiz.

 

 

The main street was packed with people and food stands. The green, fluorescent lights were so strong after the dim lanes that I had to blink a couple of times. Noiz kept on glaring at me, but I wasn’t planning on going anywhere without him. TV had taught me that packed places were the best place to kill someone and escape unnoticed.

We approached a small stand next to a light fountain. It was pretty busy, but we stood in line for only a minute, hit by the yellow and green light beans.

“What are those?” asked Noiz, pointing at the frying pan full of food.

I raised an eyebrow. That question was weird, too. “Takoyaki, octopus dumplings,” I replied.

“I want two of these,” he said to the seller. He took his Coil out of his pocket and put it on his wrist.

“Here you are.” The young woman behind the counter  gave him two takoyaki on sticks. Noiz pressed something on his Coil and she smiled. “Please, come again!”

“Here.” He offered me one and walked to the next stand. He held the takoyaki next to his lips and opened his mouth. “It’s hot.”

“Of course it is. Just wait two minutes and you won’t burn yourself,” I suggested him. “Never eaten them before?”

He shook his head. Weird, I thought that takoyaki were the average Japanese snack. But he was half-foreign, maybe. Still…

 “And those, what are those?” He pointed at the pancakes lined behind the window of the stand.

I scratched my cheek. Was he joking or something? Those were the very basic traditional Japanese food everyone knew.

“Okonomiyaki. Pancakes that you fill with what you want. How come you don’t know it?”

His weirdness had made me forget about all the bad things that haunted my head. I bit my takoyaki. I hadn’t had proper food in a while, so I savored the taste. It was delicious.

Noiz looked at the menu. “Oysters… pork… chicken…” he muttered. “Two chicken,” he ordered. He then turned to me. “I only eat pizza. And pasta.”

I frowned. That wasn’t healthy at all. “Why? I thought you had the money to buy proper food.”

“Too lazy. And it tastes good.” He ate his takoyaki and threw the stick in a nearby bin. “Salty.” He took in his hands the two folded okonomiyaki and paid with his Coil.

“You are a weird one.”

He gave me a chicken okonomiyaki and just walked to the next stand. This time he didn’t ask me for the name, he just ordered two onigiri.

We found a bench to sit and ate in silence.

Everyone was smiling, boys and girls with their Allmates. The people here didn’t feel different from the people from the Old Resident District. Only money set them apart. Was money that important?

Why did Toue want to control people? Because of money? Was it because of money that I was born, that I had Scrap? Or because of power? Creating people as tools…

 _I am different_ , I repeated in my mind.

I folded the paper bag of my okonomiyaki and looked at Noiz. He was toying with the rice in his hand. It had probably spilled from his onigiri.

“Say, Noiz.” I looked down at my bag. “You didn’t consider what I told you yesterday, did you?”

Noiz collected the grains of rice in his palm, showing no interest in my words. “What do you mean?”

“You know, my suggestion of changing Mink’s plan a bit.”

“Not again.” He dropped all the rice on the ground.

I unfolded the paper bag and looked at it. I could use it again—if I were at home. Here in Platinum Jail there was no reason for me to keep it. _Money_. “Just… try to put yourself in my shoes.”

Noiz grimaced. “I can’t,” he answered, as it was the simplest thing on Earth.

“You’re not even—“

“Don’t say that.” He glared at me with his cold eyes. “I am not like you. You don’t know me.”

“Then talk to me about yourself.” After the progress of the night before, I felt like I was going backwards. “I want to know you better.”

I took the onigiri he had bought me out of my bag and I offered it to him. He took it and looked me in the eyes. “Why?”

“Why what?” Why the onigiri or why did I want to know him better?

“Why are you interested in me.”

Did he lack self-awareness? “Because you’re helping me, and I want to thank you,” I explained. He had been a pretty decent guy, and I just wanted to be nice to him. “You took Ren’s worm and lifted my spirit…”

“And how do you want to thank me?” He took one bite of the onigiri. “You have nothing I want.”

“By being your friend.” Was it that hard to understand?

“Do you think I need you?” He snorted. “You’re a stranger to me.”

That was harsh. I looked at my empty hands. I wasn’t even annoyed at him. I didn’t know how I felt in that moment. “Well, you can talk to me when you feel lonely. We can go out to eat together again, after all of this has ended.” Maybe melancholic. The smiles of my friends came to my mind “And I told you, maybe I’ll join your team, so… we can just spend some time together, with Koujaku and Mizuki as well.”

“Those old shits? No, thanks.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why, how old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

That was unexpected. I looked at him like it was the first time. I knew he was younger than me, but—he was taller and more muscular as well. And all those piercings…

“And you?” he asked.

“Twenty-three.”

“Almost the same.” According to his logic I was almost the same with Koujaku, then. Those two had eight years or difference… no wonder they couldn’t understand each other. But the topic had changed and I didn’t like it.

“Anyway, do you believe me?”

“About your _friendship is magic_ shit?” He finished the onigiri and brushed off the rice from his hands.

“Don’t call it shit. But yes.” It was hard to realize that he was four years younger than me. But it made sense, sometimes he acted his age. “We just started in the wrong way. You’re a weird guy, but not a bad one. And I have to admit, I’m not at my best in this last period, so it’s also my fault.”

“Shouldn’t you focus on better stuff?” He stood and straightened his tie.

“I can speculate endlessly, but Toue is the one with all the answers. I have to wait for the plan to commence.” I took my bag from the ground.

 “Shall we go back?” he suggested.

 

We bought some more food for the evening on our way.

Noiz placed the bags on the table in the living room, and I sat on a couch. Nothing to do, everything to overthink. Truly beautiful. I covered a yawn with my hand.

“If you’re bored we have a swimming pool,” said Noiz, taking his Coil off his wrist. “And an arcade center. There’s some pretty sweet stuff, here.”

I cocked my head. How could I say that? “I’d feel guilty as hell.”

He sat on the other couch. “What do you mean?”

I closed my eyes. “If I were to enjoy my time here and carelessly have fun while Granny and Koujaku are in danger, I’d feel like scum.”

“They would never know,” replied Noiz.

“It doesn’t matter. I’d feel even more guilty.”

He took off his hat and placed it next to him. He touched his Coil and a digital keyboard appeared on the white leather of the couch.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“Why do you dress like that?”

He glanced at me. “Do you have problems with my clothes?”

“Not at all.” But they were unusual. He had two shirts and two trousers… maybe he came from a very cold place. It didn’t really make sense in Midorijima, though. “I’m just curious. I actually think they’re pretty cool.”

“I liked them, so I bought them. No big deal.”

He had peculiar tastes. And a thing for rabbits. I really liked dogs, but I didn’t have prints of them all over my clothes. Oh, well, different strokes.

He typed something on the keyboard and a digital screen appeared above his knees. It was full of Western letters I couldn’t decipher.

“Are you foreign?” I asked him impulsively. “Or half-foreign.”

“Half German,” he replied, typing. “Why do you care?”

That explained why he didn’t know the name of Mr Takoyaki and friends. On the other hand, he spoke Japanese fluently. I didn’t know much about Germany—they were rich, had beer and wore green. Also, World War Two. Too many years had passed since I had geography— I could only come up with stereotypes.

“I heard you speaking German at the phone. It’s an interesting language.”

“An interesting language.” He turned to me with furrowed eyebrows. “Why are you being so inquisitive?”

“I told you, I want to know more about you.”

“Because you want to be _my friend_.” He closed screen and keyboard to face me. “I see only poor attempts to hit on me.”

How did he come up with that stuff? Was it because of the tie pulling? It was a joke, for goodness’ sake. Or because of the way I was staring at him in the gym? He was in his underwear covered in kinky piercings, how could I not stare at him?

“Get glasses, then,” I crossed my arms and I felt really, really childish, but that time I didn’t say sorry.

He _was_ attractive—and nineteen. And kind of cute—in a weird, dorky way—but I wasn’t hitting on him! Not voluntarily, at least. That was out of place, considering the situation. Also, he was the one climbing down the balcony to see me, not the other way around.

He chuckled and took the remote of the huge TV. He turned it on and started zapping, but the channels were all showing the same image of an empty white balcony. White text ran in the foreground of the image: _Live from Oval Tower! Toue’s greeting speech for the opening of Platinum Jail’s Anniversary Event!_

Toue was outside! Why didn’t Mink plan on attack him that day? He had probably security all over the place, and if his speech was broadcasted on national television… Hell, we had the opportunity to turn things in our favor and talk about the pitiful conditions of the Old Resident District People. Maybe we could get attention from the mainland.

Noiz placed the remote on the side table and crossed his legs, looking at the screen.

“And so, everyone, we have left you waiting.” The screen changed to the image of an anchorwoman, with her hair in a bun and a polite smile. “The representative, the great Toue, will now be administering his greetings.”

 _Great_ Toue?

They showed the balcony again. The clapping and cheering from the public was enthusiastic and really creepy. I knew that they didn’t know the truth, but—

Toue walked in, a guard on each side. He had the calm and confidence of a middle-aged, content man. He didn’t look particularly threatening; his guards, on the other hand, masked and dressed in white from tip to toe, were really creepy.

“Everyone.” He spread his gloved hands and the crowd went quiet. He looked down to the cameras with a small smile. “On this occasion, I would like to thank you all for coming to this Special Commemorative Event. I would like to celebrate this day, the 10th anniversary of the opening of Platinum Jail, with you all. It certainly has been a while.”

I leaned toward the screen. I was listening to his every word in search for a clue, something that could give me an idea. Why all of this?

“Yes, time will not stop for us. And for this reason, I believe that everyone should spend their limited time here as happy as they can be. But what is happiness? I have always wondered. Happiness is not something so easily obtained. But I also believe that anyone can seize it.”

Yeah, if they had money. I raised an eyebrow. He could tell it to all the Old Resident District people.

“No matter the setting, people can find a way to be able to laugh from the bottom of their hearts, find delight, and obtain a sense of tranquility.”

“Bullshit,” muttered Noiz.

“To be honest—“ I looked intently at the screen “—I agree with him.” And I didn’t like it.

“If everyone would be able to achieve this, there would be no need for fighting.” That made sense. I crossed my arms. I didn’t want to agree with him, I wanted him to deliver an Evil Overlord speech so I could insult him all the way through.

“Anger and sadness are the fruits of adulthood, that argument is plausible. However, everyone suffers from the two throughout their daily lives. I want them to forget their ordinary lives and live happily within the moment.”

Hah! I disagreed. Conflict pushed one’s life forward. But I didn’t have time to expand on my thoughts, because Toue continued his speech.

“And I would also want this place to become their second home. I’m always wishing for that, always wishing for happiness to trickle down from person to person.”

Toue put his hand on his chest and tilted his head downwards. After a moment of silence, the cheers of the crowd invaded the room. How melodramatic.

He raised his hand and the crowd fell silent again. “This event will be open for two days. Today is the eve of the celebratory parade that will be held tomorrow. Before tomorrow comes, I would like to display a new _Joy_ for everyone here… now.”

A pale, young man walked to his side. He looked extremely frail. His collar bones peeked through his shirt, and a black hat made his eyes look dark and languid. His face was familiar to me, somehow.

“His name is Sei. He is like a son to me.” Toue smiled proudly. “I wouldn’t be the man I am today if not for him. He is most precious to me.” A weird feeling of uneasiness caught me at those words. “I would like to introduce him to you all for this special event.”

Sei was still looking down.

“He is both my pride and my joy. He is the messenger that will bring happiness to people’s hearts.” Despite that, he looked frail and sad. “I would greatly appreciate it if you could give him your blessings.”

That sounded like a cultist thing or something.

The crowd went mad again and I looked at Noiz. He narrowed his eyes and kept his gaze on the screen.

Sei raised his head. I met his eyes on the screen and electricity ran down my spine. What was that? I suddenly felt restless. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.  His dark eyes were so real, I felt his presence in front of me. He was gazing right into my mind, impossibly dark.

“Ow.” I clenched my fists. A sharp pain in my head made me close my eyes. The strong headache made me blink. I covered my forehead with my hand. My head was pounding.

“Sei-sama.”

I looked at Noiz. His face was blank and he was leaning forward to the screen. What? Did he know him or something? And what was with that honorific, all of a sudden?

“You’re amazing,” he muttered.

When I looked back at the screen, I felt like a razor was cutting through my brain. I couldn’t stand looking at it.

“Thank you.” Toue’s voice echoed in the room. “I’m very grateful for all your blessings. I believe that this entire island, not only Platinum Jail, will be able to enjoy tomorrow’s main event.”

“Yes,” answered Noiz, blankly. What the hell was going on with him? He raised an arm to the screen. His eyes were empty and his lips curved in a stupid smile. “Everybody will have a bite of Platinum Jail’s happiness.”

Then I remembered what Granny had told me. Toue had his means to control people’s minds. Was Noiz being controlled? He looked and sounded like a complete different person. But then, why I wasn’t being controlled as well?

Despite the sharp pain that made my teeth cringe, I reached for the remote and turned off the screen. I was interested in the rest of the speech, but I had to take care of Noiz.

The room was silent and I took few moments to recover from my headache. I hadn’t noticed I was panting.

“Noiz,” I called.

He slowly turned, still wearing that stupid smile. “Yes?”

That was not Noiz. What could I do? The only thing that came to my mind was Scrap. I could use my voice to turn him back, but how?

_You have to destroy._

“What?” I looked around. I had heard another person talking. His voice was so familiar.

_Destroy him._

I shivered. I was covered in cold sweat. Whose was that voice? Was it Scrap’s? Was I being controlled as well, with hallucinations?

“I don’t want to destroy him,” I replied out loud. Could I have a conversation with Scrap? Was I getting mad all of a sudden?

_You have to._

“That’s not true. I want to free him from… Toue’s control.”

I saw him grinning in the back of my mind.

_Then you have to destroy what binds him._

“That’s more reasonable.”

_Will you let me do it?_

I was negotiating with Scrap, because that voice was Scrap’s, right? My hands were shaking. I was talking with myself. I had that thing inside of me. What was I?

I focused on what I wanted to say. “We’ll destroy Toue’s bounds, okay? Only those. Do not… break his mind.”

_Then it’s easy—you need to talk to him. I’ll do the rest._

“Okay.” No, it wasn’t okay at all. It was unreal. I clenched my fists and looked at Noiz. He was sitting like a doll on the couch, with a faint smile and mellow eyes. I preferred his cold gaze and sharp tongue.

“ _Noiz_ ,” I called. My voice felt different. Something inside of me was growing, my chest tightening. I had complete power over him with Scrap. Absolute power. I could make him do whatever I wanted, all I had to do was ordering.

 _No!_ , I thought. I only wanted to turn him back to normal. I didn’t want him to obey me—he had to make his own choices. I was different from Toue.

“ _Noiz, come back_ ,” I said. Inside of me, Scrap grinned. “ _Please_.”

_You have to say it clearly._

“ _Noiz, forget what you just saw about Toue and Sei. Turn back to normal_.”

Through sparks I saw him distant, surrounded by dark shadows. I couldn’t get near him because of a white fence. It was made of bones, so thin and delicate that made me think about Sei’s frailty.

I could see myself—Scrap—holding those long femurs and tibias.

“ _Now_.”

The other me crushed the bones with his bare hand, and once on the ground those turned to ash. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at Noiz.

He was looking at his hands. They were lightly shaking. He awkwardly turned to me. “What—” He narrowed his eyes and grimaced. “Did you do it again?”

I let out a sigh of relief. He was back to his normal self. I felt tired all of a sudden.

He rose and clenched his fists. “Did you use your power on me again?” he growled.

“I had to.”

He was angry, and I could understand him.

“Sorry, I—”

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it. He was so strong I had to stand. I tried to cast his hand away, but his grip was like iron.

“We were watching TV,” I explained “and suddenly you acted weird and I figured that Toue was controlling you—”

His body relaxed a bit. “So you did only that?”

“I only freed you from his control,” I confirmed. “It wasn’t too strong, but you were so different, you were worshipping him or something.”

He left my shirt and stepped back. “You—”

“Please, believe me.”

I had the idea of making him follow my plan and not Mink’s, but it was caused by Scrap’s power. I didn’t want to control him. He was his own person and I didn’t have the right to make him do what I wanted, especially not regarding such an important matter. Yes, I could ask him to show up if he was eavesdropping, but forcing him to take a position in a discussion where I didn’t have his honest opinion, that was too much.

“I’m going back to my room.” He turned and walked to the door.

“Noiz!”

“Stop messing with me,” he muttered before closing the door.

I sighed and tilted backwards my head. What had just happened? I covered my eyes. The headache was gone, but an uneasy feeling was still crawling inside of me.

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my room, petting Ren and thinking about Toue’s speech and that boy, Sei. I had the feeling I knew him, but that was impossible. Something in his face felt familiar.

Around dinner time I went back in the living room to take some of the food Noiz bought. I felt like a thief, walking soundlessly, but I didn’t want to get caught by him. I felt so guilty about freeing him—but that was irrational. I had done him a favor, but his reaction wasn’t a grateful one.

I checked my Coil. It was seven in the afternoon. Maybe I could already go to bed.

Ren curled to my feet and I sighed. What an awful day.

 

A figure was standing in front of me, white like a ghost. His hair were long and he had weird, airy clothes that looked like they were part of his skin. His body was covered in black tattoos.

_You don’t recognize me?_

I focused on his face. It was me, white as paper. The hair was mine, the lips were mine, the nose was mine. The shape of the eyes, too, was mine, but his eyes were bright yellow, like a cat’s.

_Try again._

It was Scrap, a part of me.

_Yes. This is how we were born._

Why was he in my dream? I rarely had lucid dreams, and they were scary. But I wasn’t afraid of Scrap, this time.

_I wanted to thank you._

Why?

_You destroyed a part of him._

Noiz wasn’t too happy about it, but I had to. I didn’t want him to become one of Toue’s minions.

_Destruction doesn’t mean death._

I knew, but destruction was bad.

Scrap lightly shook his head.

_Only if you want it to be._

You needed destruction to have creation, that was true. They were like day and night, trapped in an endless cycle. Opposite but complementary. I liked the latter better.

_Yes._

I felt like I knew Scrap.

He nodded.

_We were great friends, some years ago. Then you forgot about me._

His voice—my voice—was sad. I was sorry for him.

_I felt lonely._

He lowered his eyes. I didn’t want him to be lonely. He was a part of me; he could always be with me.

_Will you allow me to destroy some more?_

His eyes glittered with excitement.

When I woke up, we needed to cooperate. We needed to destroy something: not break minds, just coerce them. Scrap could come out, but I couldn’t predict how much.

_Good._

He smiled like a child. It was nice to talk to him again.

_My pleasure._

 

I opened my eyes, gasping for air. I could still picture the white body of Scrap in the back of my mind. I took my Coil from the sideboard. It was only eleven. I had slept for barely four hours.

I sat on the bad and looked at the glass door of the balcony. I felt like getting some fresh air, but what if Noiz was outside as well?

“Screw him,” I muttered. I walked to the doors and opened them. The scent of the night flowers welcomed me on the balcony. There was no breeze, but it was a bit chilly, since I was in my pajamas.

The starry sky was incredible—and a lie. I could see entire constellations, blue stars, glittering stars. There was no moon. Far from this residential lane, Oval Tower glowed in the middle of Platinum Jail.

I started to hum my favorite song. I had used the 8-bit version as call tone for my Coil, and I hadn’t sung for a bit. I wasn’t extraordinarily good, I just liked to have some music around. Also, since my English pronunciation was shit, I was abusing the poor lyrics.

“New message! New message!” A high-pitched voice above made me jump. I looked up. That sounded like Noiz’s Allmate.

I chuckled. Stealth level: dork.

“Enjoying the sky?” I asked lightly.

I heard a snort.

“Were you waiting for me?” I continued. I didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. Also, I wanted to make the first move to fix things.

“Did you come here just for me?” he asked back.

“Nope.” I lied, my back to the railing. “Are you coming down again?”

“Why don’t we switch?”

“You wish.” I was smiling. Teasing him was fun and harmless, and judging from his tone, he liked it as well.

We stayed in silence for a bit. It was nice outside. It made all the killing and mid breaking we had to do the day after something really far away. I could almost appreciate the feeling of not being touched by worries.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Taking a break. Forging Platinum Jail IDs is piss hard.”

I could imagine his annoyed face.

“Don’t forget to rest.” I felt a bit like his mother. Or maybe I was using the metaphor because he was younger than me. Probably—and it was unfair.

“I only need one more, it’s gonna take a couple of hours maximum, _Daddy_.”

I grimaced. Brat. “Don’t call me that. You were the one talking about _efficiency_ and being rested.”

“I’m more efficient than you’ll ever be.”

The little fucker. “You sound like a hissing cat right now.” _Rabbit_ , my bad.

“Don’t get cocky only ‘cause you’re older.”

That had become a game. “Not only because I’m older, Noiz-chan.” I could picture him rolling his eyes and I liked it.

“Then because of what?” he asked, arrogant.

“I can still Scrap the shit out of you.” I sounded like him. Or like the teenage version of myself. I was a pretty desperate case. I mentally rephrased it.

Noiz fell silent. After a while I saw him climbing down his balcony. He sat on the railing next to me. He wore what looked like black pajamas that covered his whole body. Too bad, his nipple piercings were interesting to look at.

“That’s dangerous,” I warned him.

He smiled, challengingly. “So what?”

I sighed and looked at our reflection in the glass door. “If you fall from the fourth floor you’re gonna die. No first aid kit can save you.”

“Don’t really care.”

“Well, I do.” I glanced at him. “Also, it’s gonna be slow and painful. You don’t want it.” _Trust me, I’ve seen TV series about it._

“What if that’s what I want.” He sounded serious.

I scratched my cheek. So he was into that stuff, mmh? “Well, you know, as long as if sane, safe and consensual…” Why did I even know that stuff.

“Just how dense can you be.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Never mind. I have to check the progress of the coding.” Uh, someone was being evasive. Noiz climbed up his balcony without looking at me.

“You’re not gonna kiss me good night?” I asked with a smirk.

“You try too hard because you don’t get any, mmh?” I bet he was smiling.

“Brat.”


End file.
